A Chinese village is naming and shaming people who do not care for their parents, plastering their pictures on billboards and rolling out plans to broadcast details of their "crimes" on loudspeakers. The village drew up the rules after local elderly people raised concerns that they were not being treated well by their offspring. "Filial piety" is considered the most sacred of Chinese virtues, but decades of economic growth have led the current generation to focus more on their careers than caring for parents. To force offspring to take their responsibilities seriously, Huangfeng village in the south-western Sichuan province drew up regulations leading those who fail to fulfil their filial duties to be shamed. “Filial piety is China’s greatest virtue,” said Zhang Yiping, local party village secretary. “And Chinese people also hate losing face, so making their bad behaviour public will make them ashamed and persuade them to change their ways.”  Mr Zhang said village chiefs “try to talk” with offending offspring in the hope that they will agree to take better care of their parents. If they continue to treat their relatives badly, the village puts their personal details and a picture on a billboard.  Details of how they treated their parents badly are also shared, Mr Zhang said.

The village is also preparing to take the campaign . . . . . . read more