78.5% Chinese urbanites worry about old-age care

Horizon Research published its “Report on the Life Quality of the Chinese 2006” recently, finding that the Chinese felt much more satisfied with their life in 2006 than in 2005. It was also the first year for Chinese urbanites to feel happier than rural dwellers. However, 39.6% of the urbanites worried about old-age care, and another 38.9% about their pension. Besides, 62.3% of responders from rural areas also expressed their anxieties about old-age care.

Most of the responders feel it is necessary to improve social security system to support the old, rather than the traditional way of relying on children.

The report is based on data collected from Beijing, Shanghai Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), Luoyang (Henan Province), Mianyang (Sichuan Province), Zhuji (Zhejiang Province), Beining (Liaoning Province), Lingxiang (Hunan Province), Pengzhou (Sichuan Province) and Xingping (Shaanxi Province), including their suburbs and rural areas around them, covering 3,780 responders.

Researchers don't think that the general public have more confidence in the government, despite the fact that China has achieved a lot in of economic development. Actually, the urbanites' confidence in the administration of the government has been decreasing since 2004, particularly in the campaign against corruption and the improvement of social morals.