Time to pay your parents a visit?
Imagine being hit with a lower credit rating if you didn’t call your parents
It sounds ridiculous, but it’s what can happen to residents in Shanghai after the Government introduced a law that says adult children living away from parents “visit or send greetings often”.
It’s not the only law about taking care of your elderly parents in China, where filial piety taken very seriously by the authorities.
Children are legally required to look after parents, with over 1,000 court cases involving elderly Chinese forcing their children to pay assistance costs.
In 2013, the Chinese government also instituted a law that makes it legal for children to offer emotional support and pay regular visits.
Huangfeng village in the south-western Sichuan province has taken it a step further, naming and shaming kids who neglect parents by posting their names and photos on a public billboard. Loudspeaker announcements are next.
The village chiefs came up with the idea after some of its residents complained their children were not looking after for them properly. When trying to talk to the culprits failed, they put up the billboard complete with a list of their “crimes”.
Time to pay your parents a visit?