英闻天下——459 Non-profit Will-registration Program in China.

 　　The first non-profit registration¹ program for wills in China has offered to provide free will registration, storage as well as delivery for people over the age of 60 in Beijing. The program has proven popular as soon as it opened in March. Wang Xiao has more.

 

　　Jointly² initiated³ by China Aging Development Foundation and Beijing Sunny Senior Health Foundation, the program named Happy Message opened its first registration center in Beijing.

 

　　A woman surnamed Zhang came to the center to make her registration when she got the news.

 

　　"I come here to register my will. I want to leave my estate to my son. I think it's good that my property can be distributed in accordance with my wishes."

 

　　Actually many elderly have the same concerns. Statistics from the Supreme⁴ People's Court of Beijing shows that more than 73 percent of property inheritance disputes are caused by the absence of a will. And more than 60 percent of the wills submitted to the court are ruled invalid⁵. Therefore, property inheritance has become the harmony saboteur to many families.

 

　　Yan Qingchun, a senior officer of China Aging Development Foundation, says the will registration program aims to solve these problems.

 

　　"This program can promote harmony in each family and society at large. So it can help to avoid property inheritance disputes between family members after the elderly pass away. The property will be distributed according to the will, so there would be less problems and fights."

 

　　This program was given a big welcome. More than 200 people rushed to the center to make appointments the first morning it opened. The center served more than 400 in the next working day.

 

　　Elders can use the service at the center after registration with their ID cards. The center will keep an original copy of their wills. To ensure authenticity⁶ of wills, the program will scan, file and seal related documents as well as adopt fingerprint⁷ scanning, plus a lawyer as a witness if necessary.

 

　　Lawyer Chen Xu, the legal adviser⁸ to the program, says this fills in a blank in the law concerning wills in China.

 

　　"A lot of people came to me in the past, asking where they can put their will and who takes care of it. In foreign countries, it's lawyer who keeps the will. But in China, we really lack such an organization and a relevant mechanism⁹. I think the establishment of this registration center will help to solve the problems in will storage and execution. So it has great significance."

 

　　The program provides paper tailor-made for writing important documents such as wills, which is mothproof and moisture-resistant and can be stored for a long period. Elders can change or update their will after registration.

 

　　Chen Kai, director general of Beijing Sunny Senior Health Foundation, says they will hold more activities to promote this program in order to reach more people.

 

　　"After we standardize¹⁰ the registration process following a period of trial operation, we will set up more registration centers in Beijing and all over the country, so that the residents can enjoy this service conveniently. Also we will hold some promotional activities in the communities with our legal counsels."

 

　　Yan Chunqing, the senior officer of China Aging Development Foundation, points out that the program can help to provide more services to the elderly.

 

　　"The program provides psychological counseling and legal guidance for those who have not made a will or those not familiar with the will-making process. All these services are free."

 

　　For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.

1 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

2 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

3 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

6 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

7 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

10 standardize   

v.使符合标准，使标准化

参考例句：

• We will extend and standardize legal services and provide effective legal aid.拓展和规范法律服务，积极开展法律援助。
• There is a drive both to standardise components and to reduce the number of models on offer.正在为实现零部件标准化和减少推出的型号数量而努力。