The Chinese government has been increasing people's awareness of the importance of helping the elderly and restoring the traditional value of filial piety. In July, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, reviewed an amendment to China's Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly for the first time.
The amendment added an item that asks sons and daughters to go home often to see their aging family members, which gained strong support from the Chinese people.
But Xia said this is far from adequate.
"In addition to laws and regulations, the government should boost traditional morality education. It should also consider moral standards when selecting government officials and thus, drive them to set good examples for the general public in terms of morality," he said.
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