Comments | crack the embarrassment of "chopping wood for cooking at the age of eighty or ninety", reflecting the broad vision of good governance

The premise of not allowing this group of people to chop firewood and cook their own firewood is that they do not have to worry about the source of three meals a day, let alone worry about who will protect their basic living needs once they are incapacitated.

On February 9, the State Council New Office held a regular briefing on the State Council's policy briefing on the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of urban and rural community service system". Ou Xiaoli, director of the Department of Social Development of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the meeting that we cannot engage in "poetry and far away" before the most basic needs are not guaranteed, we cannot let the elderly in the city become "islands of demand" in the Internet age, nor can we let the rural elderly in their eighties and nineties have to chop firewood and cook by themselves. This heartfelt remark has won the affirmation of netizens.

If "poetry and far away" and "digital divide" are old topics that have long received attention, then "cooking with firewood at the age of eighty or ninety" is a new topic on the table. Focusing on this phenomenon reflects the concern at the policy level about the warmth and coldness of the elderly in special situations.

Anyone who has experience in rural life knows that it is not uncommon for eighty or ninety-year-olds to "chop wood and cook". There are two kinds of situations, one is that the old man has developed a tenacious temper in his agricultural life to do his own good work and enough food and clothing, and get a sense of peace from it; second, in the case of his children's long journey and his life is drifting to zero, he still has to chop wood to cook in his old age, which is really a last resort. Some elderly people, in order to improve their livelihood, have to go to the market stalls and sell some self-grown vegetables and fruits.

For the former, it is advisable to respect and support it, because "chopping wood and cooking" is also a practice and a habit; for the latter, it is necessary to try to convey warmth to the body and mind of the rootless and helpless.

This means promoting a precise concern, a basic guarantee. The cultural connotation and realistic context reflected in "the old man and the old man" are not only the hopes of the people of the world, but also the requirements of the government. The government must have arrangements for this.

We see a determination in the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of urban and rural community service system". In terms of service content, the "planning" emphasizes the integration of serving the people, facilitating the people, and serving the people. Among them, the old have support and the weak have support is an important part of the function of serving the people.

With a scientific and rigorous top-level design, promoting policy implementation and opening up the "last mile" is the top priority. This clearly faces an urgent situation. According to the "Seven Pu" data, China's population aged 60 and above is 264 million, accounting for 18.70%. This number is expected to exceed 300 million in 2025. As Ou Xiaoli mentioned, from the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan" to 2035, the aging degree of the mainland will continue to deepen, and empty nests, left-behind, elderly people and severely disabled people need our special attention and attention.

In this regard, it is not allowed to turn a blind eye, turn a blind eye, or allow delay and perfunctory. Ou Xiaoli proposed that it is necessary to pay attention to the daily needs of people with special difficulties, vigorously develop community meal assistance, cleaning assistance, bath assistance, medical assistance and other services, and especially emphasize that meal assistance services are the most basic living needs of the elderly and the disabled. In the next five years, the elderly meal assistance service in large cities will gradually cover more than 80% of the community, and the monthly visit rate of the elderly with special difficulties can reach 100%.

This statement shows the broad vision of helping the elderly and good governance.

"The white giver does not live up to the road", and letting the old man who has to chop firewood to cook put down the sword and axe and firewood is the task entrusted by history, and it is the proper meaning of the topic of the old to support, the old to rely on, the old to have fun, and the old to be at peace. As long as we work together, grasp and manage together, and try our best to meet the multi-faceted needs of the elderly, the elderly can have a happy and happy old age.

Red Star News special commentator Wu Lichuan

Edited by Guan Li

Red Star Review Submission Email: [email protected]

(Download Red Star News, there are prizes for the newspaper!) ）