Category: Chinese Culture

New wording in the law requiring people to visit or keep in touch with their elderly parents or risk being sued came into force Monday.新修订的《老年人权益保障法》于7月1日生效，其中规定，成年子女应当经常看望或者问候老年人，否则就会面临被起诉的危险。
It is primarily aimed at raising awareness of the issue, said one of the drafters, Xiao Jinming, a law professor at Shandong University. "It is mainly to stress the right of elderly people to ask for emotional support … we want to emphasize there is such a need," he said.山东大学法律系教授、该法案起草者之一肖金明说，这样做的目的是让人们意识到养老问题。他说：“主要是强调老年人有权利要求精神慰藉……我们想强调老人有这样的诉求。”
Cleaning lady Wang Yi, 57, who lives alone in Shanghai, said the new law is "better than nothing." Her two sons work several hundred kilometers (miles) away in southern Guangdong province and she sees them only at an annual family reunion.今年57岁的王怡（音译）是位清洁工，独自居住在上海，她说这个法律“总比什么也没有强”。王怡有两个儿子，现在都在几百公里外的广东省工作，只有每年过年团圆时才能见到一面。
"It is too little, for sure, I think twice a year would be good," she said. "We Chinese people raise children to take care of us when we are old."她说：“哪怕一年见两次面也好，现在见面机会太少了。我们中国人抚养孩子，就是希望等我们老了能有个照应。”
China's legislature amended the law in December following frequent reports of elderly parents neglected by their children. It says offspring of parents older than 60 should see that their daily, financial and spiritual needs are met.中国立法机构在十二月修订该法律之前，曾有一系列报道称年老父母被儿女忽视。报告称60岁以上的父母应该确保儿女能满足他们的日常生活、和物质精神需求。
Although respect for the elderly is deeply engrained in Chinese society, three decades of market reforms have accelerated the breakup of China's traditional extended family, and there are few affordable alternatives, such as retirement homes.尽管尊敬长辈深深植根于中国文化中，三十年的市场经济改革使得中国传统的家族意识日渐淡薄，而其他诸如养老院一类的赡养方式价格不菲。
Rapid aging poses serious threats to the country's social and economic stability, as the burden of supporting the growing number of elderly passes to a proportionately shrinking working population and the social safety net remains weak.老龄化速度过快，对中国社会经济的稳定发展都带来巨大威胁。社会保障制度仍不全面，工作人口所占比例不断减小，但却要负担起更多老龄人口的衣食住行。
Zhang Ye, a 36-year-old university lecturer from eastern Jiangsu Province, said the amended law was "unreasonable" and put too much pressure on people who migrate away from home in search of work or independence.36岁的张烨（音译）是江苏省东部某大学讲师，她说这次修订案“不切实际”，对于那些远离家乡寻找工作谋求独立的人来说压力更大。
"For young people who are abroad or work really far away from their parents, it is just too hard and too expensive to visit their parents," she said. "I often go to visit my parents and call them … (but) if a young person doesn't want to, I doubt such a law will work."她说：“有些年轻人身在国外，或远离家乡，对他们来说经常看望父母很难做到，而且花销太大。我经常回家探望父母，和他们打电话……但是要是孩子不愿这样做，我认为法律对他们也不会起作用。”

She is the stunning Chinese student whose graduation pictures proved so popular they caused her university website to crash after being uploaded onto the homepage.这名清新美丽的中国学生的毕业照在上传学校主页后大受欢迎，造成网站页面一度瘫痪。
Wearing her graduation robes and holding her mortarboard hat, the girl, who goes by the name Kang Kang, is seen in a variety of poses on and around the Renmin University School of Arts.穿着学士服，手拿学士帽，这名叫康康的女孩在人民大学艺术学院附近摆起了各种姿势。
The trouble began on Sunday when, in a change from their usually conservative homepages, the university decided to uploaded Kang Kang's graduation photos instead. But the photos proved so popular that the university website couldn't cope with all the incoming traffic and crashed on Monday evening.麻烦发生在上周日，学校决定采用康康的毕业照来代替以往保守严肃的校网主页。但是没想到照片实在太受欢迎了，结果周一早上学校网站访问量剧增，甚至一度瘫痪。
To make matters worse it is the height of the admissions period, meaning hundreds of would-be students were unable to get their applications in.更糟的是，此时正值学校招生高峰期，也就意味着许多即将入学的学生不能顺利申请。
Kang Kang, who has since been dubbed the Goddess of Renmin, has so far declined to comment.被称为人大女神的康康，到目前为止拒绝对此发表评论。
Fellow students had initially praised the university's decision to feature a graduate on the website rather than lecturers or other members of staff.学校决定在网站上用毕业生的照片取代演讲或其他教师的图片，学生们对此举表示赞赏。
School's out: The pretty student tosses her mortarboard hat into the air in front of the university building.毕业咯：这位美丽的学生在学校教学楼前将学位帽抛向空中。

6月17日，由中国国家汉办驻泰代表处与泰国教育部联合举办的第十二届“汉语桥”大学生中文比赛泰国预选赛在曼谷落下帷幕。

2013年6月8日下午，“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛越南北部赛区决赛在越南首都河内市中央电视台（VTV）9号演播大厅成功举办，越南北部地区11所大学的13名优秀选手参加了比赛，经过近5个小时的精彩角逐，来自河内大学中文系大三的学生黎宝钗夺得冠军。