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UPDATED: July 18, 2014 NO.13 MARCH 28, 2013
Supporting the Bereaved
Lawmakers call for more government aid for people who have lost an only child
By Zeng Wenhui
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CORNERED FOR ANSWERS: Wang Pei'an (center), Vice Minister of the former National Population and Family Planning Commission, says "Only time will tell," when asked about the possibility of relaxing China's single-child restrictions on the sidelines of the National People's Congress session on March 5 (CFP)

According to Huang, the health conditions of childless senior citizens are generally much worse than their peers. The grief, desperation and sometimes guilt for losing children often eat them up inside, making them more prone to cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and depression.

The loss is not only of the present relationship but also of future hopes and dreams. When an only child dies, aspirations of a wedding, a daughter- or son-in-law, and the possibility of ever becoming a grandparent are lost.

"These people often isolate themselves from others. During holidays, they are reluctant to visit family or friends as such occasions could trigger their recollections of their own children and they don't want their sadness to spoil the festive atmosphere," Huang said.

More support needed

"The government should shoulder the living expenses for senior citizens whose only child passes away," said Ma Xu, an NPC deputy and head of a research institute under the former National Population and Family Planning Commission.

In accordance with a cabinet reshuffling program adopted at this year's NPC session, China has set up the National Health and Family Planning Commission by merging the former Ministry of Health with the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

Huang said that the government should do more for these elderly people as they made sacrifices for the country. Inspired by the practice of the Heart-Connecting Society in Wuhan, she suggested that childless parents should live in their own retirement communities, because visits by their roommates' or neighbors' children at regular retirement communities might conjure up unhappy memories of their departed children.

Living together would also give these parents opportunities to share experiences and encourage each other, just like self-help organizations for cancer survivors.

In Huang's suggestion to the NPC, she wrote that family planning departments or residents' communities should become legal guardians of people surviving their only child after they reach a certain age and provide nursing services for them if necessary. She also suggested that the government should design special pension, medical insurance and aid schemes for these families.

Currently, these parents in China have set up their own online chat groups and websites and meet offline to visit the gravesites of one another's children for anniversaries and birthdays. Huang said that civil affairs departments should establish a special branch to offer free psychotherapy to parents stuck in mourning.

"A living allowance for bereaved parents should be increased. Parents who lose their only child in their 40s or 50s are in pain as it is difficult for them to have another child," Hu said. He suggested that the age-based subsidy scheme implemented in Jiangxi Province, where he comes from, should be introduced nationwide.

Hu said that under Jiangxi's scheme, if the parents are under 40 when their child dies, the government subsidizes necessary check-ups and fertility treatment for the couple to have another child; couples who lose their only child after reaching 40 are entitled to a government living allowance of 360 yuan ($58) per couple per month between 40 and 48 years of age, which rises to 600 yuan ($97) per month between 49 and 59 and to 1,000 yuan ($161) after reaching 60.

Ma said that all local governments are raising their living allowance standards for parents bereft of their only child and the newly amended Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly stipulates that these people are entitled to government aid and assistance.

Many people call for the government to relax single-child restrictions to reduce the number of bereaved parents. In complete agreement, Huang wrote in her suggestion that single-child families face a greater risk of becoming childless.

In provinces and municipalities such as Jilin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Tianjin and Shanghai, the government has introduced pilot programs to add more exceptions to the one-child policy. For example, rural families where either parent is an only child are allowed to have a second child.

Many people are eager to know when the barrier to having a second child will be removed entirely. The least terse response comes from Wang Pei'an, Vice Minister of the former National Population and Family Planning Commission, who told the media on the sidelines of the NPC session, "Only time will tell."

Email us at: yaobin@bjreview.com

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