14 DAY TRIAL // The Chinese are committed to preserving family values. They are so set on them, that they plan to pass a law that would force adult children to visit their parents.
According to Good, the piece of legislation would be attached as an amendment to an existing elderly rights law. Should grown-up kids fail to pay a visit to their now senior parents, they can be sued.
Chinese judges have already demonstrated their support for the lonely parents. Earlier this month, a court in the province of Shandong ruled against a woman, when her mother claimed she had to be compensated for being ignored by her. She was forced to pay a monthly allowance of 350 to 500 renminbi (about $53 to $75).
The legal movement is brought upon by the tendency towards urbanization in China. As more rural areas are turned into urban environments, elderly citizens no longer have the support of a rural community.
The usually end up moving to apartments, and suffering from depression brought about by loneliness. Their children are moving out as well. Statistics show that, while, traditionally, adult Chinese children would end up living with their parents and even grandparents, they are now choosing to move out and live on their own.
In the States, a young woman was able to sue her parents and mandate them to stop visiting her. Aubrey Ireland, a student at the University of Cincinnati, was granted a restraining order against her parents. It appears they started coming by regularly since she left for college, and were jeopardizing her academic career.
They confessed to a judge that, for her own protection, as they believed she had mental issues, they were tracking every move she made on her laptop and cellphone.