Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Throughout China’s history, one’s family seems to have always been a critical insurance for one’s welfare in old age. Yet, with demographic change and economic transitions, the sustainability and practicality to rely on individual families to care for older people has attracted much debate and social concern since the 1980s. To understand the changing social expectations and the corresponding societal responses, the shifting perception of the rights and responsibilities associated with the family care of older people has to be comprehended first. Based on thirty-nine interviews with key stakeholders (older people, academics, officials, and NGO staff) in two Chinese cities, Beijing and Guangzhou, this paper examines the changing perspectives of family’s role in old-age care. Rather than seeing their families as the default provider for their wellbeing, most older people interviewed have taken more responsibility for their life decisions and have actively sought alternative resources to secure a fulfilling retirement. This research contributes to an understanding of the pursuance of a “good life” by older people in contemporary urban China. It points to the argument that independence and autonomy in old age, as valued by the interviewees, will not be realised unless there is a shift in policy to recognise and respect the individuality of older people and facilitate their life choices.