【正文】
難題。中國將怎樣解決在致富之前先治老齡化,又是誰將會照顧這些老人呢? 在中國已經(jīng)延續(xù)了幾個世紀的孝道深植于文化傳統(tǒng)中。盡管最近幾年有所毀損,但仍難以置信它將在不久后瓦解消亡。有許多證據(jù)表明中國的父母和子女間有著緊密的聯(lián) 系和兩代間的凝聚力。而且政府也在努力來保護傳統(tǒng)價值和鞏固家庭義務(wù)。在未來的幾十年里,家庭贍養(yǎng)體系仍然是一個不可或缺的角色來承擔 照顧 老人的責任。 政府和家庭的聯(lián)手努力或許是解決長期老齡化問題的最好方案。 Population Aging in China 1 Introduction The proximate determinants of population aging in China are fundamentally the same as those in any other country. It is an inevitable consequence of the process known as the “ demographic transition” in which declining fertility together with a rise in life expectancy leads to a shift towards an older age structure of the population. Yet, the story of population aging in China is unmistakably unique, shaped by its distinct historical, cultural, economic and political contexts. The pace of its aging trend is by itself unparalleled, with the proportion of older adults projected to grow from per cent to per cent over the first half of the twentyfirst century (United Nations 2020). As the most populous country in the world, this increase in the population of elderly translates to an astounding growth of 242 million people, which would qualify it It is the purpose of this chapter to examine the multifaceted process of population aging in China, with particular attention to its socialist/munist background. We begin by exploring the demographic determinants and trends of population aging, highlighting the role of state policies in facilitating the fertility and mortality declines. To address the issue of elderly caregiving, we examine the traditional family support system and the challenges it faces since the launch of the economic reform policies in 1978. We then review the ongoing pension and health care reforms initiated by the government as strategies to meet the demands of an aging population. In the conclusion, we discuss the dilemma that the government f