Improvement of the Legal System for Addressing the Issue of Elderly Care in China in the Context of Population Aging

LI Xiansen

Abstract: Rapid population aging is a social reality facing China at present, and the issue of elderly care has become a hot topic of social concern. Legislation to address the issue of elderly care in the context of population aging should follow systematic concepts to achieve “vertical and horizontal integration.” In terms of content, it is necessary to formulate specific legal approaches around “the elderly and children,” with a focus on guaranteeing the livelihood and protection of the rights of the elderly while taking into account childbirth, employment and other issues. The laws should not only safeguard the social participation and labor rights of the elderly, and effectively respond to the social challenges brought about by the aging of the population. It is also necessary to optimize the family planning policy to ease the burden of child-raising, improve the population structure and promote the long-term balanced development of the population, thus fundamentally solving the problem of population aging. The effort to improve the legal system to deal with the issue of elderly care in the context of population aging will better advance China’s modernization.

Keywords: population aging · legal response · the elderly and children · old-age care · family planning policy