首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the Main
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the Main
admin
2010-04-28
81
问题
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the Maintenance of Parents Bill, it received the backing of the Singapore Government. That does not mean it hasn’t generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament opposed the measure as un-Asian. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations within the family; cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.
Those proponents say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial responsibility fails. The law cannot legislate filial responsibility any more than it can legislate love. All the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves insufficient. Singapore needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives to shore it up.
Like many other developed nations, Singapore faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age. Demography is inexorable. In 1980, 7.2% of the population was in this bracket. By the end of the 20th century that figure grew to 11%. By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age per se. It is that the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.
But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet. Some people will {all through the holes in any safety net.
Traditionally, a person’s insurance against poverty in his old age was his family, life is not a revolutionary concept. Nor is it uniquely Asian. Care and support for one’s parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.
The problem in Singapore is that the moral obligation to look after one’s parents is unenforceable. A father can be compelled by law to maintain his children. A husband can be forced to support his wife. But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to support his or her parents.
In 1989, an Advisory Council was set up to look’ into the problems of the aged. Its report stated with a tinge of complacency that 95% of those who did not have their own income were receiving cash contributions from relations. But what about the 5% who aren’t getting relatives’ support? They have several options: (a) get a job and work until they die; (b) apply for public assistance (you have to be destitute to apply); or (c) starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable. And what if this 5% figure grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages?
The Maintenance of Parents Bill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues that have so far kept Asian nations from some of the breakdowns encountered in other affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for maintenance from any or all of his children The court would have the discretion to refuse to make an order if it is unjust.
Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the point. Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court. If it does indeed become law, the bill’s effect would be far more subtle.
First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual’s--not society’s--responsibility to look after his parents. Singapore is still conservative enough that most people will not object to this idea. It reinforces the traditional values and it doesn’t hurt a society now and then to remind itself of its core values.
Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk ’their responsibilities think twice. Until now, if a person asked family elders, clergymen or the Ministry of Community Development to help get financial support from his children, the most they could do was to mediate. But mediators have no teeth, and a child could simply ignore their pleas.
But to be sued by one’s parent would be a massive loss of face. It would be a public disgrace. Few people would be so thick-skinned as to say, "Sue and be damned". The hand of the conciliator would be immeasurably strengthened. It is far more likely that some sort of amicable settlement would be reached if the recalcitrant son or daughter knows that the alternative is a public trial.
It would be nice to think Singapore doesn’t need this kind of law. But that belief ignores the clear demo- graphic trends and the effect of affluence itself on traditional bends. Those of us who pushed for the bill will consider ourselves most successful if it acts as an incentive not to have it invoked in the first place. (804)
At the end of the passage, the author seems to imply that success of the Bill depends upon ______.
选项
A、strict enforcement
B、public support
C、government assurance
D、filial awareness
答案
D
解析
推理判断题。从本文最后一句我们可以看出作者的观点,如果议案能在督促人们行孝道上发挥作用,而不是首先想到对簿公堂的话,这个议案才能算是一个成功的议案。由此可以推断D项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/PSqO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、Toindicatehowclimberscommunicated.B、Toshowthatclimbersenjoyedmanycomforts.C、Toshowthatmodemtelephonescanwork
Lichens,probablythehardiestofallplants,livewherevirtuallynothingelsecan—notjustonruggedmountainpeaksbutalsoo
A、OnequarterofthewholeAmericanpopulation.B、ElevenpercentofthepresentAmericanpopulation.C、Around90,000.D、Some900
I’llstartmylecturebytellingyoua【B1】______.Ayoungwomanfrom【B2】______cametoNewYorkandgotajobatafactory【B3】___
A、AttendingaconferenceheldinEurope.B、Applyingforaresearchgrant.C、Tryingtogetintograduateschool.D、Presentingap
"It’stoughtomakepredictions,especiallyaboutthefuture,"saidthatgreatbaseball-playingphilosopher,YogiBerra.Andyet
Whattodonow?SchoolofficialsaroundthecountryareaskingthatquestionfollowingaSupremeCourtdecisionrejectingracial
TheArchbishopofCanterbury’sstoryseemedratherextraordinary.Herewasadeeplymoral,responsible,successfulfamilymanwh
Intheauthor’sopinion,theprolongationoflifeisequaltoInthesecondparagraphacomparisonisdrawnbetween
1 Howiscommunicationactuallyachieved?Itdepends,ofcourse,eitheronacommonlanguageoronknownconventions,oratlea
随机试题
女性内生殖器官正确的说法除外
引起小儿肺炎合并心力衰竭是由于肺动脉高压和
“泻南方、补北方”的治痿原则是下列哪位医家提出的
女性,40岁,类风湿关节炎10年,长期服用非甾体抗炎药,化验血常规血红蛋白78g/L,下列关于该患者贫血说法错误的是
下列说法正确的是:()
下列方法中,()被应用于违约风险区分能力的验证。
甲公司对外币业务采用即期汇率的近似汇率折算,假定业务发生当月1日的市场汇率为即期汇率的近似汇率,按月结算汇兑损益。2008年1月1日,该公司从中国银行贷款400万美元用于生产扩建,年利率为6%,每季末计提利息,当日市场汇率为1美元=6.21元人民币,3月3
总体看来,2008年世界各国的石油探明储量基本变化不大。但是由于BP公司修正了前苏联、哈萨克斯坦、伊朗、利比亚和苏丹等国的数据,特别是哈萨克斯坦从12亿吨修正到54亿吨,从而使各国在全球石油储量分布中所占的比例发生了一些变化。尽管如此这并没有影响到欧佩克在
火箭发射、同步卫星发射都选在晚间7-9点,这样做的原因可能是()。
Wherecanpeopletakeadulteducationcourses?
最新回复
(
0
)