Care for the elderly
Yesterday was the Double Ninth Festival - the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. The auspicious figure connotes eternity, and thus longevity in our culture. The date's association with old age became closer and clearer in 1989, when it was designated Senior Citizens' Day.
So yesterday at the Confucian Temple in Beijing, 50 three-generation families were convened to perform traditional rites symbolizing respect for family elders.
Children and grandchildren, dressed in traditional costumes, bowed before their parents, or grandparents, in humble reverence, and offered them symbols of longevity. Confucius, if he were there and looked at the crowd from Heaven, must have heaved a sigh of relief. After so many years of disregard and denial of the tradition, his descendants are finally trying to live up to their country's proud label as a "land of courtesy and propriety".
For many of us, especially those who live and work away from home and parents, the Double Ninth Festival is an occasion to make up for our neglect of filial duties at other times. And the cost can be as low as an unexpected bouquet, or a phone call. That is family.
There is nothing wrong on the government's part to promote awareness of our traditional virtues like respect for the aged. But as the national population structure evolves, taking care of senior citizens is no longer just a family matter.
The number of people above 60 has reached 149 million nationwide. In Shanghai, for instance, this age group accounts for more than 20 percent of the local population.
While various recent surveys reported reluctance by the elders to spend life's last years in nursing homes, almost all those with decent facilities and services see overwhelming demands. One of them in Beijing claimed it would take 20 years from now to accommodate all current requests.
From that, the government sees challenges, and businesses see opportunities.
We hate hearing government officials say tight budget prevents them from building more nursing homes to meet the needs. Foot-dragging will only aggravate the pains once aging evolves into a full-blown crisis. We can scarcely imagine the nationwide scenario. It is unrealistic to expect the government to single-handedly handle all the pressures. But there is no excuse for authorities to merely stand aside. Lack of standards, like in many other service sectors, is a main reason why many elders would rather stand the loneliness at their empty nests than go to nursing homes.
A responsible government can do a lot in providing comfortable yet affordable nursing homes, while improving care and services in both urban and rural communities.
It is the duty of the government to facilitate policies and services to enable the elderly to enjoy their twilight years with little worries about wherever they choose to live.
(China Daily 10/08/2008 page8)
