Frequent visits

Yang Xingdong (Jingjiang Evening News): The tragedy that befell Chen's parents was in fact avoidable. Indeed, adult children often need to work away from home to make more money, but this is not a valid excuse for neglecting to visit one's elderly parents. Taking care of one's parents need not necessarily conflict with one's devotion to their work.

In the real world, everyone living far away from their elderly parents should ask themselves whether they are doing their best to guarantee their elderly parents live in good conditions. At the very least, they could call their faraway parents more often and try to solve problems within their limited capacity. This would mean that even though they are not living with their parents, the elderly can still feel like they are being looked after. Doing this would not cost much time or money.

Rapid urbanization is making distances between family members ever greater. It is said that the old couple that passed away knew their neighbors, but the relationship was only at the level of greeting, with no closer ties having been established. If the connection among neighbors had been closer or the community had paid more attention to its elderly members living alone, the couple would not have died at home without having been discovered for so many days.

With senior citizens becoming an increasingly large demographic in China, making sure that the elderly can enjoy their golden years in comfort and safety is becoming an increasingly urgent question.

It's great that in some communities, senior citizens living in solitary conditions are visited by community social workers or volunteers. The tragedy that was visited upon Chen's parents, however, shows that this social aid network does not cover all communities. The authorities need to think harder and do more in regard to increasing emergency aid to vulnerable senior people.

Li Liuhe (www.dahe.cn): Elderly people that are left alone tend to lack the capabilities necessary to take care of themselves. In case of any accidents, for instance, they may be unable to rescue themselves from the situation.

In July 2013, it was written into law that adult children should go back home to visit their elderly parents regularly. Children are now required to visit their parents more often and thus they should try their best to go home to keep abreast of their parents' recent health and living conditions and to ensure they live a comfortable life in the senior years.

Meanwhile, to ensure that children pay regular visits to their elderly parents, there should be laws that demand employers grant special holidays or periods of leave so that their employees can go home without worrying about their income suffering as a result.