China's government enacts an Elderly Rights Law that would fine and even jail wayward children. Online internet users attack the new legislation. Some wonder who decides what is "often". For others, the government should know that its one-child policy makes elderly care hard, especially if their children live far away.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - As China's new controversial "Elderly Rights Law" comes into effect, many people have turned to irony to question how the government will measure filial love. Many blame the problem on the state's family planning policies for the aging population.

According to the law, children owe their parents "care and love" and must "visit them more often". Anyone who fails to do so could get hefty fines and even jail time. However, the legislation is so vague that its application seems impossible.

Online, many have ridiculed the whole thing. "Who doesn't want to visit home often?" asked one Internet user, adding, "The government should consider the fact that we live thousands of kilometres away from your family. It is not filial negligence, but real impossibility."

"What is considered 'often'? wrote another on weibo, the Chinese microblogging website. "It's fine that no one is paying for us to visit our parents, but paying the state for not doing so seems too much."

"The fact is that with only one child per family, living apart because of work, we cannot guarantee our parents' welfare," said a third.

Given the new law's vagueness, it will not be easy to implement it. "It is hard to put this law into practice, but not impossible," said Mr Zhang Yan Feng, a Beijing lawyer.

"If a case is brought to court on the basis of this law, I think it'll probably end up in a peaceful settlement," Zhang noted. "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."

For 5,000 years, filial piety and parental care have been the foundations of Chinese society. Until the introduction of the one-child policy in China, each family tried to be as large as possible in order to guarantee elderly care and pass on the family name. Things changed when the government adopted a violent policy of family planning.

By 2010, China found itself with 178 million people over 65 years of age, a number that should double by 2030. Meanwhile, their quality of life is expected to get worse.

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