Court sets good example on filial duties

The man takes a family photo with his mother, holding a photo of his deceased father, at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on Jan 19. [Photo/Weibo]

Chongyang festival, a day for senior citzens in the country, was celebrated on Wednesday. Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu province, East China, issued a new judicial document on protecting senior citizens' legal rights, in which it said those failing to care for their parents' emotional needs might lose some of their inheritance. Comments:

Some say that the document issued by Suzhou court is not a law and cannot be directly quoted to punish those breaking the principle. Actually, the judicial document unambiguously shows the attitude of the judiciary in Suzhou on the issue, namely that people need to care for their parents' emotional needs. That's a kind of legal support to parents who suffer from a lack of support from their children and encourages them to defend their rights.

Xu Mingxuan, a Beijing-based lawyer, Oct 21

Suzhou is showing how the judiciary can help correct wrong deeds such as children failing to visit their parents or even spiritually abandon them. However, that will only solve part of the problem because many seniors will choose to tolerate such behavior instead of taking their children to court. The ultimate solution to the problem lies in reversing the moral decline of society and encouraging people to care for their parents willingly, instead of doing it only to perform a legal duty.

Shijiazhuang Daily, Oct 21

In 2013, an amendment to the Law on Protecting Senior People's Rights required people to spiritually care for their parents and regularly visit them if they do not live together; now the court in Suzhou has taken this a step further by setting out a possible penalty for those who fail to care for their parents. As society progresses, we are happy to see the protection of elderly people's rights being strengthened. We hope the legislators follow Suzhou court's example and write the principle into the law soon.

qianlong.com, Oct 20