New law forces kids to visit parents

BEJING -- On Monday, China instituted a new law that requires children to visit and care for their elderly parents, the Global Times reported. The law has caused quite a stir as many question whether or not the government has the right to involve themselves in family matters such as how and when children care for their parents.

A new provision to the Law on Protection of the Rights and Interests of Elderly People states that family members should visit their elderly parents more often, and bars verbally abusing, assaulting or otherwise mistreating parents, the Times reports.

The provision does not specifically require the number of times children must visit their parents, leaving some questions to be answered.

"More quantitative standards and measures need to be added," Xia Xueluan, a professor with the Institute of Sociology and Anthropology of Peking University, told the Global Times.

The law insists children should take care of their senior parents both economically and psychologically. The law is in response to an increase in elderly abuse cases in recent years, the Global Times .

By the end of 2011, approximately 13.7 percent of China's total population was above 60 years old. The number is expected to rise to one-third of the Chinese population by 2050.