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China’s ageing elite live golden years in style
BEIJING, Jan 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At a gated community for Chinese senior
citizens, retired military personnel, film-makers and top university
professors settle into a new routine: ballet lessons, weightlifting and
catered dining.
As China’s population ages rapidly and the one-child policy left parents
with only a single child to help them in their old age, the upper crust of
Chinese society are spending the last years of their lives in luxury.
A grand piano backlit by floor-to-ceiling windows stands in the Yanyuan
community’s clubhouse living room. Brightly coloured artworks commissioned
from Israeli artist David Gerstein adorn public spaces.
“This is our home now,” said Li Ying, a 71-year-old resident who spent more
than 30 years in the military. “Special circumstances notwithstanding, we are
prepared to live here until the end.”
Though high-end institutions like Yanyuan, which boasts an on-site hospital
and on-call staff, are still few in China, they are part of a growing
industry as the country races to develop enough elderly care support for its
exploding population of senior citizens.
By 2050, one in three people in China, or 487 million people, will be over
the age of 60 — more than the population of the United States — according
to the official Xinhua news agency.
In the past, parents could count on their children for care in their
twilight years under Chinese traditions of filial piety.
– Ageing crisis –
But as China reckons with its one-child policy, which was aimed at curbing
population growth, Chinese couples are now burdened with raising their own
children while supporting both sets of parents — without the help of
siblings.
“The idea that children should take care of their ageing parents is an old
logic spanning thousands of years,” explained Li. “As society develops, this
is changing.”
To tackle the country’s looming ageing crisis, the Chinese government is
trialing a number of policies, including preferential tax policies for
elderly care service providers.
The push to grow China’s elderly care capacity has encouraged more private
companies, from real estate developers to insurance firms, to seize on
business opportunities in the industry, such as nursing homes where residents
enjoy five-star accommodations and professional medical support.
MORE/SSS/1739 hrs
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At Yanyuan, which is run by insurance giant Taikang, residents can either
buy into the company’s two million yuan ($290,000) pension plan or make a
down payment of one to two million yuan ($145,000 to $290,000) on top of
monthly living expenses of at least 6,000 yuan ($870), not including the food
budget.
Publicly-run nursing homes, on the other hand, can cost less than $1,000 a
month or offer subsidies to residents but are often viewed as a last resort
for China’s more destitute senior citizens.
“Whether or not China’s elderly care industry can satisfy the needs of
(China’s) rapidly ageing populace depends on who is paying for it,” says Chen
Youhua, a professor at Nanjing University who has studied China’s elderly
care industry.
If it’s paid for privately, there could be an overabundance of facilities
and beds, but “if it’s the government or society who pays… then the current
elderly care services industry cannot satisfy such needs”, he added.
– Not alone –
Some industry experts are wary that private firms will focus on providing
lavish retirement villages for long-term residency, rather than creating
last-mile nursing homes for those who cannot take care of themselves.
Vivian Lou, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, who
studies long-term care, suggested healthy 60-year olds could enter such
villages for seniors, and remain there for 20 years, during which time no one
else could take their spot.
“This then becomes a housing solution,” she explained.
Still, for residents at Yanyuan, socialising with peers — and simply not
being alone — is one of the greatest benefits of staying in the retirement
community.
In the past, the entire family lived together, “joyous and harmonious,”
said Ge Ming, who heads operations at Yanyuan. “But over the course of
urbanisation, the (family) structure has changed”.
Young workers from all over China migrate from rural areas in search of
higher wages and work opportunities — they are no longer home to care for
their parents or grandparents.
For China’s ageing elite, many of whom already live in the major cities,
their children may be living overseas or simply too busy building their own
high-powered careers to look after relatives.
“I can’t rely on them,” said Zhu Mingyi, an 82-year-old retired professor,
who used to teach languages.
His daughter lives in Beijing working for an international broadcaster,
while his son is in Japan.
He added: “They have their own careers and family. They don’t have the
time, money, or energy to take care of you.”
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