Old Chinese women can't stop won't stop dancing in the streets
Some say you should dance as if no one’s watching. China’s 150 million “dancing grannies” prefer to dance as if no one’s listening. The seniors spend early mornings and whole evenings jiving in public parks, sidewalks and housing compounds to well-cranked mixes of techno, Mandopop or revolutionary songs. Their highly audible antics have long been a source of tension in densely crowded cities. So, last month, officials tried to start regulating the practice. The first volley of official disapproval — timed to coincide with the warm weather that brings the “dama,” as they are known, out of hibernation — was a coordinated announcement from the General Administration of Sport, the Ministry of Culture, and state-run news wire Xinhua. It said that henceforth, “there will no longer be different dance routines for each community, but instead unified national routines,” chosen by an expert panel of fitness instructors. For years, residents and neighbors have been clear: they’re fed up with both the noise and the encroachment on public space. The battle started with mere heckling. But it intensified. Soon angry neighbors were deploying homespun artillery, like water balloons and human excrement. One gun-toting man unleashed his dogs on the dancers. He was promptly arrested. And in one seemingly self-defeating move, a group of residents pooled $40,000 to buy military speakers — then blasted the elderly women with the sound of car alarms.
Most, however, seethe in silence. The battleground over “dancing in the square” is emblematic of the particular tensionsthat have risen between older Chinese, raised in the collectivist spirit of the Mao era, and younger urbanites who, faced with extraordinary pressure to get rich and raise families, value their downtime. It also highlights the tricky nature of reining in a demographic whose sense of societal entitlement is both culturally ingrained, and increasingly deaf to changes around them. Although the regulations were introduced — using the government’s latest buzz-phrase — to “spread positive energy,” the response was generally negative. Critics of the grannies say their issue with them has nothing to do with choreography: it’s about the hours they keep, the noise they make, and the places they do it. And although well used to being bossed about by bureaucrats, the grannies also show little enthusiasm for the state-approved moves. “I will never learn those dances,” one vowed to the Global Times, a Chinese tabloid. “I’d rather simply quit,” another told Shaanxi newspaper Huashing News. “They’ve no right to interfere.” The five-month official campaign . . . . . read more in TheWorld
Chinese seniors urged not to get vaccinated against COVID
China has excluded seniors from its mass COVID-19 immunization program, sparking concerns about the safety of the much-touted homegrown vaccines. State media outlet CCTV released a notice on Sunday (Jan. 3) about the country’s inoculation effort against the coronavirus. According to CCTV, individuals aged 18 to 59 are eligible to receive a jab, but those of other age groups are cautioned against vaccination before further clinical tests are conducted. The fact that the elderly, who are believed to be the most vulnerable to the virus, are advised not to seek a jab, has caused quite a stir among Chinese netizens and cast doubt on the efficacy of the Chinese vaccines, wrote CNA. Also warned against inoculation were pregnant and lactating women as well as anyone with hypertension or diabetes. In addition to these health conditions, an official from the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control suggested that people with a fever, infections, immunity defects, serious liver and kidney diseases, or malignant tumors, should also avoid a shot, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. On Dec. 31, China approved the use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm, which claimed the jab to be 79.34 percent effective at preventing infection, behind the . . . . . read more in Taiwan News
A Graying China May Have to Put Off Retirement. Workers Aren’t Happy
Most Chinese workers retire by 60. But with the population aging and pension funds running low, the government says that must change.For Meng Shan, a 48-year-old urban management worker in the Chinese city of Nanchang, retirement can’t come soon enough. Mr. Meng, who is the equivalent of a low-level, unarmed law-enforcement official, often has to chase down unlicensed street vendors, a task he finds physically and emotionally taxing. Pay is low. Retirement, even on a meager government pension, would finally offer a break. So Mr. Meng was dismayed when the Chinese government said it would raise the mandatory retirement age, which is currently 60 for men. He wondered how much longer his body could handle the work, and whether his employer would dump him before he became eligible for a pension. “To tell the truth,” he said of the government’s announcement, “this is extremely unfriendly to us low-level workers.” China said last month that it would “gradually delay the legal retirement age” over the next five years, in an attempt to address one of the country’s most pressing issues. Its rapidly aging population means a shrinking labor force. State pension funds are at risk of running out. And China has some of the lowest retirement ages in the world: 50 for blue-collar female workers, 55 for white-collar female workers, and 60 for most men. The idea, though, is deeply unpopular. The government has yet to release details of its plan, but older workers have already decried being cheated of their promised timelines, while young people worry that competition for . . . . read more in The New York Times
Virtual nursing homes: A new way to care for China's elderly
As the degree of population aging deepens, "virtual nursing homes" – a new model of home care that makes full use of social resources – are becoming the choice of more and more elderly people in China. The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and 22 other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Capacity Expansion and Quality Improvement of Consumption and Accelerating the Formation of a Strong Domestic Market" on March 13, 2020, proposing to vigorously develop the "internet + social services" consumption model and support the development of community-based virtual nursing homes. Over the past 10 years, virtual nursing homes have been promoted in many places in the country, exhibiting expanding service groups, diversified service content, and prominent intelligent features. The elderly want to live at home. However, while their children are willing to take care of them, they suffer from lack of time and energy. Virtual nursing homes seem to be providing a solution to the problem. With just one phone call, the nursing home can provide various services for the elderly at home, from buying vegetables and cooking to cleaning, from massage services to accompanying the sick, so that the elderly can enjoy "personal customized elderly care" without leaving home. In the virtual nursing home in . . . . . read more
China's elderly are overwhelmed in online post-pandemic world
Mobile internet-based technology has played an irreplaceable role in helping China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, but many elderly in China are facing a considerable dilemma as they navigate the unfamiliar territory of QR codes, mobile payments and digitized information. Although China has almost controlled the disease outbreak, people still need to present their health QR codes that record their recent whereabouts. Green health QR codes are mandatory for entering public places, using public transportation and traveling. The health QR code system – based on big data – has been proved a highly useful tool for containing the contagion. However, accessing the code can be a problem for many elderly people who have poor digital skills or no internet access, as they don't use smart phones or dont even own a mobile phone. Recently, video footage of a senior citizen who was unable to show his health code and argued with the staff at a metro station in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province has triggered widespread debate on social networking sites. Following this, the Dalian Metro reflected on the inadequate services for such special groups. The old man also apologized for his temper when stopped at the subway station's gate. According to the Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, China has 904 million internet users by March 2020, with a 64.5 percent penetration rate. However, the proportion of internet users aged 60 and above . . . . read more on CGTN
China’s Hidden Crisis: A Growing Elder Care Gap
Huang Ernan knows the live-in caretaker she hires to look after her elderly mother isn’t really up to the job. At 73 years old, the woman is only a few years younger than Huang’s mother, who is 85. And she often lacks the focus required to provide good care to a patient who has suffered multiple strokes over recent years. On one occasion, the caretaker left the house without locking the door, allowing Huang’s mother to wander off down the street. Other times, she failed to help her client after she’d wet the bed — an issue that became so common, Huang eventually started buying her mother adult diapers. Huang, however, has no intention of firing the woman. In her home city of Shanghai, finding a replacement would be far from easy. The eastern metropolis is ground zero for China’s elder care crisis, offering a glimpse into the pressures that could impact other cities as the country’s population rapidly ages. By 2050, one-third of China’s citizens will be aged 60 or over — a demographic transformation that threatens to create deep social and economic challenges. But in Shanghai, the future has already arrived: The country’s most elderly megacity has 5.2 million residents aged over 60 — over 35% of the registered population. Access to elder care services has become a hot-button issue for Shanghainese. Demand has far outstripped supply over recent years, leaving families like Huang’s with few good options. In 2012, there were fewer than three nursing home beds for every 100 elderly residents in Shanghai. And despite government pledges to provide thousands of extra beds by 2022, the problem remains equally acute today. Many downtown facilities have waiting lists stretching well over a year. Shortages of in-home caretakers — who do the vast majority of care work in the city — are even more severe. A decade ago, surveys suggested Shanghai needed an extra 550,000 domestic workers to meet its elder care needs. Since then, wages for caretakers have more than tripled, but the problem has only worsened. For many families, hiring a low-skilled domestic helper through . . . read more at SIXTH TONE
