Childless elderly to receive government help

Senior citizens who have lost their only child are expected to be included in the State care system, a senior civil affairs official said on Thursday.

Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, said the issue of elderly citizens who have lost their only child is new for the country, surfacing only since the end of 1970s when China implemented family planning policies to control its population.

Dou said the government should care for older people, and proposed relevant departments learn from current policies supporting elderly people who are not able to work, have no source of income and have no one to support them.