CRI听力： Care for the Elders

Recently, the Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia Long Yongtu again aroused controversy for his comments on aging population in China. He pointed out that old-age care cannot just rely on the government. The experience from western countries tells us that it's unsustainable and impossible to ask the government to buy endowment insurance for all people.

Now here are the responses from the media.

Reporter:

The Oriental Morning Post carries an article pointing out that the aging population challenges the current "family support for old age" pattern in China. The Chinese annuity system is using the incomes of those who work to maintain those who are retired. In the system, the age structure of the population should be relatively young. Now, the rates of young people are dropping very fast in China, while the rate of the elderly is growing rapidly. So the annuity plan is unable to make ends meet and the burden on society is increasing. Because of this, dealing with this crisis but also trying to improve the elderly support system is a major task.

A comment in Beijing Youth Daily says it is unrealistic to expect the government to provide a pension for all in China in the current situation. So on one hand, people should pay full attention to the initiatives of the individual, the family and the community. They can buy social insurance according to their own financial conditions. On the other hand, the government can't use any excuse to avoid its responsibility.

So, they should also develop all kinds of social insurance policies and establish a social security system involving individuals, companies, social organizations.

The China Youth Daily has an article with the same view that the government can not shift its responsibility on the issue. It's necessary to use various ways of elderly-support to relieve government's pressure. But the government can not reduce their role and simply pass on the costs to citizens. After all, old-age care is the government's duty, for after years of working, the retirees deserve to be repaid.