Seniors safeguarded against children's financial demands

A new law in Anhui province aims to prevent adult children from relying on their unwilling parents for endless financial support.

In China, children who rely on their parents' savings to enjoy carefree and comfortable lifestyles are known as kenlaozu, a word that translates as "people who devour the elderly".

The Anhui regulation, introduced by the provincial people's congress, will take effect in March.

"Adults who are able to live on their own should not ask for financial support from their parents if the latter are not willing to give it," the regulation states.

It also bars people from asking the elderly to do physical tasks that they are unable to perform or that are bad for their health.

Officials in the province expect the new regulation to improve seniors' lives, but experts and residents fear it will be difficult to enforce.

Farmer Zhu Zhengwei, 77, said he and his wife cannot rely on a law to safeguard their interests, even when their son asks too much of them.

In 2002, Zhu's youngest son, then 26, was about to get married and insisted that his parents give him 90,000 yuan (then worth $10,840) to buy a city apartment.

Zhu, who farmed for decades in Changfeng county, Hefei, had saved little and needed to borrow the money from relatives and friends. It took him more than five years to repay the loans.

Tang Jun, a social policy expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the kenlaozu issue concerns ethics more than the law, as under current regulations people can dispose of their cash and property as they wish.