CHINA: Better Deal For Shanghai Old Folks

PENANG (The Malaysia Star), October 27, 2007: Senior citizens in Shanghai enjoy a host of benefits including free medical check-ups, discounted hospital medical fees, better subsistence allowances and even funeral allowances. Now the city is giving the old folks free public transport. October 19 was the Chong Yang Festival, senior citizens’ day in China, and it was a good time as any to give Shanghai old folks some good news. Starting from that day, senior citizens aged 70 and above can take public transport, including the Metro train, for free during non-peak hours. All they need to do is show the bus driver and train station personnel their 'red card', a social security card, as proof of their age. Many have lauded the Shanghai municipal government move and are happy that the government has extended its social security policy to include a wider range of benefits for the elderly. Shanghai is faced with the phenomenon of families becoming smaller and more senior citizens living on their own, Shanghai municipal government spokesman Jiao Yang said at a recent press conference to announce the free transport policy. Shanghai is an ageing society with more than 1.55 million residents aged 70 and above, probably the most number of senior citizens in China. There are 468,000 residents aged 80 and above while about 1.2 million residents are between the ages of 60 and 70. The city has a population of 13.68 million permanent residents and another five million transient residents. Besides that, the elderly do not need to pay check-up fees and are charged discounted medical fees at hospitals. The 234 healthcare centres in the city have served more than 127,000 old folks and another 220 centres have been set up to carry out activities for them. Homes of 16,500 of the 20,000 senior citizens, who live on their own, have already been installed with warning systems to alert the relevant authorities in the event of an emergency. Other benefits include funeral allowances. By Chow How Ban Copyright: The Star, Malaysia