Beijing aims for better services by keeping track of its elderly
Print Edition
WHEN Beijing residents over the age of 80 take a bus, see a doctor or even spend money, their activities are digitally tracked by the government.
Officials say it’s part of an effort to improve services for the country’s rapidly growing elderly population.
The data collected from each swipe of the multi-purpose “Beijing Connect” old person’s card goes into a massive database and city authorities hope the information will enable them to better cope with their rapidly growing aging population. There are around 3 million over-60s in the capital.
The Beijing government says it is collecting the disparate data on the elderly in order to predict what services will be needed in the future. This is to make sure it has the necessary budget and services in place, by taking into account people’s decreasing mobility, for example, said Bai Qiang, vice president of the Beijing Community Service Association, a city government agency.
“All of the data we are collecting now, including visits to parks, the use of public transport and shopping trips, will help us to predict whether the elderly will become disabled in the future,” Bai said.
The thinking is that if an elderly person is paying fewer visits to parks or not using as many buses, that will show up in the data. The government can then judge what the disability rate will be in future and prepare a budget plan in advance, Bai said.
Cardholders interviewed said they weren’t concerned about a loss of privacy and praised the program as far more convenient than the coupons the government used to give them for the same services.
“I’ve no worries. Elderly people don’t have any secrets,” said Liu Huizhen, 84, who was using her card to buy steamed bread at a small supermarket.
“It’s hard for elderly people to count” coin-by-coin, Liu said. “And when you take the bus you just swipe the card, it’s very simple and convenient.”
China needs to deal with the needs of a rapidly aging population, the result of rapid economic development, longer lifespans and a strict, 35-year-long family planning policy that limited births, creating a shrinking working-age population.
While the elderly were traditionally looked after by their children, they are increasingly turning to oversubscribed old people’s homes or fending for themselves at home.
Other regional authorities are also using data-gathering to help the elderly. However, none of the efforts is as wide-ranging as Beijing’s multi-purpose card, which will cover everyone aged 60 and over who live in Beijing and neighboring regions by the end of 2018.
The card functions as ID and gives free access to public transport and public parks. The government also tops up the card with 100 yuan (US$15) each month, and cardholders can activate an additional function to enable them to use it as a bank card onto which money can be transferred from an account.
Zhao Fangjun, in a park where a row of elderly people were sunning themselves, said that in addition to the government subsidy, his mother-in-law transfers 250 yuan onto the card each month. He said the card can be used not just in selected shops and restaurants, but also to hire a cleaner and take out a newspaper subscription.
Some cities, like Nanjing, have social security cards with an e-payment function that can be used for public transport and medical treatment and are available to all residents, not just the elderly.
Shanghai has introduced a card for the over-65s that distributes government subsidies.
This card doesn’t collect big data, however, according to Shanghai government’s social security office.
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