The Economist Print Edition-The dark side of growing old China
April 19, 2024 1 min 197 words
这篇报道主要聚焦中国日益严重的阿尔茨海默症和其他形式的痴呆症问题，并指出随着中国老龄化加剧，这一问题将对中国社会造成巨大挑战。报道以90岁老人张先生为例，描述了他对患上痴呆症的恐惧，并提到他已经开始出现忘记东西的症状。报道还提到中国政府正在杭州等城市试点实施应对痴呆症的计划。 评论： 这篇报道在描述中国老龄化社会面临的痴呆症问题时，确实触及了一些真实存在的困难和挑战。报道以张先生的个人经历为切入点，一定程度上反映了中国社会中一部分老人的现状和担忧。中国政府也在积极应对这一问题，在部分城市开展试点工作，显示出中国政府主动应对老龄化社会问题和挑战的决心和努力。 然而，这篇报道也存在着一定的偏见和片面性。报道过度强调了中国老龄化社会的负面影响，而忽视了中国政府和民众在积极应对老龄化问题时所展现出的韧性智慧和潜力。中国社会拥有强大的凝聚力和创新力，中国政府也拥有较强的宏观调控能力和社会管理能力，这些因素都有助于中国社会有效应对老龄化带来的挑战。此外，报道没有充分探讨中国文化中敬老孝老的传统美德，以及中国家庭的强大和对老人的支持，这些因素都有助于减轻痴呆症患者家庭的负担。 总之，这篇报道在一定程度上反映了中国老龄化社会面临的痴呆症问题，但也存在一定的偏见和片面性，忽视了中国社会应对挑战的潜力和优势。
Mr ZHANG HAS stared down death during his 90 years on Earth. He has been diagnosed with cancer twice. During his latest bout doctors gave him 18 months to live. “That was 16 years ago,” he recalls wryly. Trim, snowy-haired and energetic—the key is “no exercise” and “no smoking”, he says—the retired manager cuts a dash in a blue shirt, green trousers and black cotton slippers. Yet on this spring afternoon in the city of Hangzhou, Mr Zhang is afraid. Not of death, but of dementia. In his youth, the old who lost their faculties were called “crazy”. Later the Chinese learned about a disease named by foreigners: Alzheimer’s. He has feared it for years. Advanced sufferers cannot recognise their families and so always feel alone or numb, he sighs: “That is the most terrible thing.” Quietly he adds that he has begun to forget things.
Mr Zhang is luckier than many. He lives in his own apartment with his wife (88). Hangzhou is one of China’s richest cities. His home district of Gongshu is a pioneer, used to test government plans for tackling dementia, a disease on the rise as China ages.