Seniors first

Today is the Double Ninth Day in the Chinese lunar calendar, an occasion for paying respects to the elderly. The country's 167 million elderly people above the age of 60 make up 20 percent of the world's total and the number is expanding every year. So this particular occasion serves as a reminder that much needs to be done to pre-empt the pending crisis caused by an ageing society.

About 28 million seniors nationwide are incapable or partially incapable of taking care of themselves, according to statistics from the office for senior citizens under the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They are badly in need of homes for the aged or professional nurses to take care of them.

Statistics show that empty-nest homes (where old couples live alone) make up 49.7 percent of households in urban areas. The percentage is 38.3 percent in rural areas. It is indeed a challenge for the government to provide this increasingly large proportion of the population with adequate care.