In Hong Kong society nowadays, how to fulfill our filial duties?

Filial piety is a time-honored traditional virtue of the Chinese people, a cultural heritage that spans over 5,000 years. It promotes benevolence, stability, unity and cohesiveness among individuals, families, societies and the country as a whole.

Hong Kong is an international city with a fast pace of life, high work pressure and a cramped living space. In today's Hong Kong society, children who want to show filial piety to their elderly family members often encounter many challenges. The main challenges are as follows: (1) Lack of time due to being occupied with career and family responsibilities; (2) Children may not live with their parents, and some may even emigrate overseas, leaving their parents to live alone in Hong Kong; (3) Health of their parents is deteriorating, and lack of support resources for care; (4) Some may have few siblings, or they themselves may be an only child who has to bear the responsibility of taking care of parents alone.

The following suggestions can also serve as a reminder of how to fulfill the responsibilities of children in the family and society.

(a) Make it a priority to spend time with your parents and make it a habit to visit your parents by reserving a specific time slot for them every week.

(b) Assist parents to master information technology, communicate with them online, send messages and photos, so that parents living alone can stay connected with their families and society, and avoid feeling lonely or isolated. Grandchildren and grandparents can also be encouraged to build up close and warm relationships, by doing so they can feel the inheritance of family ethics and morals.

(c) Pay attention to the activities and diet of parents. The dental and oral health of the elderly is often easily neglected, which may lead to chewing and swallowing problems. A poor diet, in turn, will easily result in malnutrition of the elderly, thus affecting their overall health. Furthermore, pay attention to the safety of parents both at home and outdoors. Encourage parents to exercise regularly to maintain muscle and balance and prevent falls. Since prevention is better than cure, make good use of primary healthcare services to keep parents healthy and manage well their chronic diseases.

(d) When parents' health conditions suddenly deteriorate and they lose the ability to take care of themselves, it is necessary to pool the resources of the whole family. Divide the caring work among family members to support the parents at the center. If you cannot take care of them yourself or if you are under financial pressure, you can seek resources from the community and enquire the Social Welfare Department and non-government organizations about respite care, residential care, day care, and home rehabilitation and home nursing care services for the elderly.

Practicing filial piety is a noble responsibility and virtue. How children treat their parents will be emulated by their own children. When this generation grows old in the future, they will be treated equally well by their descendants. The culture of filial piety is the moral standard of gratitude, respect, love and harmonious co-existence for family and society, which will last forever.