Concern over Plight of 01d People in Countryside of China

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The fast-ageing process has placed a burden on traditional Chinese family-supporting pension mechanisms in rural areas.Deputies attending the National People’s Congress（NPC）are urging the government to build a social security system for old people in rural areas，covering basic living costs and medical expenses.

The latest national census in 2000 showed that among the 133 million people aged over 60 in China，more than 85.57 million are in the countryside.The countryside has a faster ageing process than cities around 1.23 percent higher and the gap willnot be closed until 2040，said a recent report on China’s ageing process released by the China Ageing Committee in February.

Different from developed countries，China has a higher level of old people in the countryside，rather than in cities，said Li Bengong，an official of the committee，as quoted by Xinhua News Agency，adding that the countryside，especially in western China，faces a great ageing pressure.

While the majority of the elderly in cities are covered by the social security system，the elderly in rural areas are usually forced to depend on their offspring for their living and health care expenses.

The lack of pensions，the burden of diseases，and the reliance on the children’ssense of family responsibility，lead to an unsatisfactory，or even terrible，life for the older rural population.

Experts at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimate that 9 per cent of the rural senior population is living in poverty.However，deputies from the countryside said they saw a more serious poverty problelm.

“Some old people are living very badly.They don’t have money to treat disease.

In some cases，their families are too poor to provide enough food，”said Yang Shaojun，NPC deputy from Central China’s Hunan Province.

“The government shall build an aiding system for rural people over 75 years old，who usually can’t take any labour work.The support shall start with basic living costs.

Currently，an aiding system sponsored by the central government is available in 15 provinces，covering more than 7 million rural people.However，the aid is mostly for farmers who are hit by disasters.