This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

“See you next week,” Mom says, “Or I’ll see you in court.” Most mothers of adult children use guilt to encourage more frequent visits, but here in China they may be able to add the threat of a lawsuit to their arsenal. A recently proposed law would allow aging parents to sue neglectful children. Decades after the implementation of China’s one-child-per-family policy, one of the outcomes is an elderly population that is growing at a faster rate than the younger one. In a society where the burden of elderly care falls mostly on their children, frequent visits have more to do with survival than loneliness. So, if it comes to a choice between being served Mom’s homemade soup or being served a subpoena, pick the soup.

With thanks to David Boyd for this text, from the KU Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.