China law says children 'must visit parents'

[Jim Johnson]

Grown children in China must visit their parents or potentially face fines or jail, a new law that came into effect on Monday says.

China's new "Elderly Rights Law" deals with the growing problem of lonely elderly people by ordering adult children to visit their ageing parents.

The law says adults should care about their parents "spiritual needs" and "never neglect or snub elderly people".

The regulation has been ridiculed by tens of thousands of Chinese web users.

Many across China are questioning how the law could be enforced, since it fails to spell out a detailed schedule dictating the frequency with which children should make parental house calls.

"Those who live far away from parents should go home often," it says.

However, that does not mean the law is toothless.

Instead, it serves as an "educational message" to the public, while also serving as a starting point for law suits, explained Zhang Yan Feng, a lawyer with Beijing's King & Capital Law Firm.

"It's hard to put this law into practice, but not impossible," Mr Zhang explained.

"If a case is brought to court on the basis of this law, I think it'll probably end up in a peaceful settlement. But if no settlement is reached, technically speaking, court rulings can force the person to visit home certain times a month."

"If this person disobeys court rulings, he could be fined or detained."


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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23124345