Aging China faces elder neglect (2)

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By Xinhua writers Zhou Yan and Pan Qiang (Xinhua) 20:56, October 11, 2013

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"EMPTY NESTERS" OF AN AGING SOCIETY

China has the largest senior population in the world, with 194 million people at or above the age of 60 at the end of last year, according to the China National Committee on Aging.

This age group is expected to expand to 243 million by 2020 and by 2050, one third of the Chinese population will be aged over 60.

The number of "empty nesters" is rapidly growing in the city and country alike.

Last month, Wei Yufang, 82, moved out of the two-storey house her two sons built for her, and returned to her old residence, a rundown bungalow where she spent more than 30 years.

"The big house made me feel more miserable," said Wei, a widow whose sons and daughters all work in faraway cities in Guangdong Province, leaving her to take care of herself in the rural Hepu County of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Her only companion is her dog. She has liver cancer and rheumatism, and spends many sleepless nights in pain. Her children come home only once a year for Spring Festival, and stay for two weeks. x In Guangxi, at least 1.5 million elders aged at 65 and above are "empty nesters" like Wei. Ministry of Civil Affairs estimates 50 million elders are unattended in China's rural areas.

Huang Hongyun, 65, still works on the family's 0.4-hectare smallholding, and takes care of his epileptic wife and two grandsons. The couple have two sons and a daughter, all of whom work in Guangdong and come home once a year at most. Huang gets up at 4 a.m. and works in the fields before going home to cook for the family.

Most "empty nesters" fear illness more than anything, because a sudden ailment can leave them unable to work and penniless overnight.

Last summer, Huang had an appendicitis and was sent to hospital by a neighbor. He never told any of his children about his illness, fearing they might ask for leave and have their wages cut. "The operation cost nearly 10,000 yuan."

Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist with the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said China's wide rural-urban gap is significant in care and other resources for elders.

"In big cities like Beijing, senior citizens enjoy free bus rides and free entry to parks. Each month, they get coupons to buy meals at community service centers. Most communities have hospitals and medical services which make housecalls upon request," said Prof. Zhou.

In the countryside, however, hospitals are almost always faraway and nursing homes for elders are extremely rare, he said. "Some empty nesters just died of illness that were not discovered in time."

The Chinese, who traditionally rely on their children for medicare and provisions in old age, are now hoping the government will provide for the elderly, said Prof. Zhou.

"To meet such a demand, China needs to set up a senior nursing service system in rural areas, by setting up more nursing homes and training more staff," he said.

China's 45,000 senior nursing homes can accommodate a total of 4.31 million people, far too few compared with the graying population. Only about a third of them are in the rural areas, home to 60 percent of the nation's aging population.