VOA慢速英语2013 中国法律规定子女赡养父母（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2013-07-25 Chinese Law Requires Adults to Support Aging Parents 中国法律规定子女赡养父母

Welcome again to the daily magazine show As It Is. For VOA Learning English, I’m Mario Ritter.

欢迎来到本期的慢速英语新闻杂志，我是马里奥·里特。

In this program, we hear about China’s slowing economy and what that means for some of its neighbors. But first, we told you in one of our earlier programs about a new Chinese law that requires adults to care for their aging parents. Today we report on some of the issues facing 200 million Chinese over the age of 60. Jim Tedder has more.

在今天的节目中，我们报道中国经济放缓，以及这对一些邻国的影响。我们早些时候报道过，中国法律规定成年人赡养年老的父母。今天，我们来报道2亿名60岁以上中国人面临的问题。吉姆·特德报道。

A new law in China requires adults to provide mental and financial support to their aging parents. If adults fail to honor this responsibility, they face fines and other punishment. The measure became law earlier this month. It is placing hardships on children who struggle to live up to traditional values of family loyalty.

中国一则新法律要求成年人向老年父母提供心理和经济支持。如果成年人未能履行这个责任，他们将面临罚款等惩罚。该措施于本月初成为法律，这对那些努力履行传统的忠于家庭价值观的晚辈来说是个困难。

Until recently, it was common to find several generations of Chinese families living in one house. But, the need to find jobs, follow a career path and become financially independent is forcing many young people to leave home. Often, older parents are left behind.

直到最近，四世同堂在中国很常见。但就业、事业和经济独立使得很多年轻人离开家庭。所以老年人经常被留在家里。

Han Yujing directs the Qianhe retirement home in Beijing. He believes that it is easy for younger generations of single children to lose contact with their parents.

韩玉静(音译)是北京谦和养老院负责人，他认为，独生子女一代很容易与父母脱离联系。

“They live in a transition time where have both older and younger generations to look after. Here they have their work and their career. They have to try and manage elder parents, family and work, allocating the right amount of energy and resources.” 

“他们生活在同时需要照顾老年和后代的过渡期，他们有自己的工作和事业，必须努力照顾好父母、家庭和工作，并合理分配经历和资源。”

The retirement home opened for business this year. About 50 older adults live there now. Mister Han says the home eases the concerns of men and women who want their parents to receive the kind of physical and emotional care they can no longer give. He says they want their parents to live in dignity and not face loneliness while they are living somewhere else. For this, the children are willing to pay about $650 a month.   

这家养老院今年开始营业，大约有50名老年人生活在这里。韩先生说，养老院给老年人提供了年轻人无法给父母提供的身心照顾，因此令年轻人放心了不少。他说，年轻人希望父母们有自尊地生活，在自己居住外地时不再孤独。子女们需要为此每月支付650美元。

Lu Jiehua is a professor of population studies at Peking University. He says 90 percent of older adults live off their family’s support. However, as the number of children shrinks because of family planning policies, there are few supporting resources for the elderly.

卢杰华(音译)是北京大学人口研究学教授，他说90%的老年人靠家人生活。但是，由于计划生育政策使得子女数量减少，老年人得到的支持资源就少了。也就是说，目前有两亿以上流动人口，这意味着将有更多的空巢老人。

By the end of the year, China will have more than 200 million people over the age of 60. With the new law requiring adults to support their aging parents, many see business possibilities. Websites like Taobao, an online store, are offering services to visit older people in place of their children. Since the beginning of July, more than 100 elderly care service providers have been registered on the website.  

截至今年年底，中国将有2亿年龄在60岁以上的老年人。新法规定成年人赡养年老的父母，因此很多人从中看到了商机。像淘宝这样在线商店开始提供代替子女看望父母的服务，自7月初以来，已有100多名养老服务提供者在这家网站上注册。

The providers offer families a different way of showing family loyalty at prices that go from about two dollars to more than $300. However, Professor Lu Jiehua says caring for the emotional needs of parents is usually more difficult than providing for their material well-being.

商家提供展示家庭忠诚的另类办法，价格从两美元到300美元不等。然而，卢杰华教授说，相对于提供物质照顾，为父母提供情感照顾通常更难。

“People who work in a different city send money home to their elder parents and provide material support. But the biggest problem is when they get ill. Who is going to look after them? These children live miles away and the elders also suffer emotionally.”       

“生活在外地的子女给父母寄钱，提供物质照顾。但最大的问题是老的时候，谁来照顾他们呢？孩子们生活在远方，老年人就得不到关心。”

There are also moral questions the law cannot fix. Professor Lu says the issue of family loyalty and taking care of parents involve moral issues that cannot be solved by enforcing a law. While the measure can make a difference, it can also cause families to pull away from each other and the elderly.

法律无法规定一些道德问题，卢教授说，家庭忠诚问题和照顾父母涉及道德问题，不能通过法律解决。虽然该措施能起到一些作用，但也会使得家人之间产生嫌隙。

A woman in Jiangsu province was the first to take action against her daughter under the law. A court ordered the young woman to give money to her mother and visit her every two months.

江苏省一位妇女是首个向女儿和女婿提起诉讼的人，法院判定女儿给母亲钱，每两月看望母亲一次。

To free younger adults from being the only ones responsible for their parents, China’s government is now urging more community and institutional support for the elderly.

为了使年轻人不再成为照顾父母的唯一人，中国政府目前敦促社区和机构为老年人提供更多支持。

Slowing Growth in China Could Affect Its Neighbors

Economists are warning that China’s slowing economic growth may be something for neighboring countries to worry about. Milagros Ardin has more.

Last week, China reported that its economy grew seven and a half percent between April and June, compared to the year before. The growth rate was generally what economists expected. But it was far less than nearly 10 percent rate that China experienced for many years.

The slowdown is partly the result of continuing weakness in the international economy and the policies of China’s central government.  Chinese officials have been working to cool some areas of the economy by making it harder to borrow and by permitting the value of the country’s money, the yuan, to rise.

The slowing Chinese economy has increased concern across East Asia and the Pacific. China’s continued growth has helped the area survive the international economic crisis since 2008. 

Donghyun Park is an economist with the Asian Development Bank. He says the slower growth shows China’s past policy of “growth at all costs” may have passed.

“The Chinese authorities are more than prepared to swallow or accept slower growth in exchange for greater stability down the road.”

In recent years, China’s government has provided support to investors and lenders to keep the economy growing at almost 10 percent a year. Such growth lifted millions out of poverty. But the expanding economy also led to rising concerns about its environmental and social effect.

Now that China is willing to control growth, nearby countries are predicting slower growth in their most important industries. For years, Australia and Indonesia have profited from China’s demand for raw, unprocessed, materials. Mr. Park says the outlook for economies in Asia and the Pacific is a mixed one. But in the end, what is good for China is also good for the rest of the area.

I’m Milagros Ardin.