From Chinese Press

Don't forget old age allowance

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-11 07:55

An essential feature of a civilized society is to provide enough care and warmth to senior citizens. But officials of some provinces have failed to allocate funds to provide old age allowance, says an article in Modern Express. Excerpts:

Despite the order of the Ministry of Civil Affairs , many provinces have failed to provide old age allowance to many people, says a recently released report.

And it's not only that poor provinces have failed to do so. The report says many rich provinces, too, have failed to carry out the order of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

There can be only one explanation for this failure: provincial authorities are not willing to bear the cost of improving old people's lives. This is a shame.

Care and respect for the elderly have always been considered a virtue in Chinese culture. Taking care of senior citizens is a fundamental requisite of modern civilized society, too.

Providing help to the old is the responsibility of the government, for it is related to social justice and harmony.

(China Daily 06/11/2010 page9)