TAIPEI: The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft amendment that would nullify the obligation of adult children to support parents who have abused them.

The existing Civil Law stipulates that lineal blood relatives have a mutual obligation to take care of one another.

Under the draft amendment, adult children can ask the court to lessen their responsibility for the care of parents who have abused them, their spouses or linear blood relatives.

Depending on the magnitude of the abuse, a request could be made for such children to be totally freed of the responsibility.

The requests can also be made to the court in cases where the parents failed to adequately support their children and can show no good reason for not meeting their obligations, according to the draft revision.

In cases where parents attempted to kill their children, sexually assaulted or abused, or failed to maintain them for more than two years, the children would be absolved of any penalty for abandoning the parents.

Wu Den-yih, head of the Executive Yuan, said the existing laws that entitle parents in all of the above categories to sue their adult children for abandonment or lack of support is unfair to the children.

The amendments are meant to redefine the obligations between parents and children, Wu added.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/06/2009 page2)