Ask a Laobeijing: On Moving the Elderly Out of Beijing

By Emma Huang

'Ask a Laobeijing' is a regular series where we chat with a laoren about their thoughts on different issues. This month, we met Li, 63, as she shopped in Zhongguancun.

How do you feel about the city's plan to offer elderly people money to move out of Beijing?

Old people can be divided into three groups. The first group consists of those who have just retired. They lead an active life and are still productive. The second group consists of people over 70, most of whom can still take care of themselves. The last group includes sick or disabled seniors who, comparatively speaking, are in the worst condition. It is their families – their kids – who should look after them.

The state fails to take into consideration the real needs of elderly people. They don’t want money and they don’t want to go to care homes. I’m old myself, and I have seen some of the care homes and their poor conditions. Old people need families and kinship, otherwise they’ll get lonely. Their kids are too busy to talk, while their grandchildren are even more distant – who knows what they are thinking about with all their phones, computers and books?

So why would anyone want to go to a care home in Tianjin, even if the authorities pay for it? There is no family; no company! Big cities like Beijing and Tianjin are different from villages, which have tighter communities. I have seen on TV how old people live in village care homes. They eat and play together – it is like a commune. In cities like Beijing, it’s different. But you cannot just put old people away.

Also sickness is inevitably a major part of old people’s lives. So apart from families, another thing we really need is good healthcare. What would happen if we moved to a care home in a small town and got sick? Are there any assurances that people can get access to good hospitals?  

Let’s talk practically. The state offers to pay for care homes but what kind of care homes? If they are too shabby, no one will want to go; but if they’re too luxurious, the state won’t be able to afford them. Have they really considered the money issue? It all comes down to economics really.

As told to Emma Huang

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