Across China: Local government orders more heart, sole in filial devotion

During the national Spring Festival holiday, a township government in central China's Hubei Province instructed officials and students to wash their parents' feet.

While Huoshaoping government's intentions seem honorable enough -- the activity was designed to remind offspring of their filial responsibility -- not everyone was a fan of the "forced leg-work."

The two dozen government workers and 300 students were also asked to document their foot-washing and submit photographs as evidence.

Zhang Changjun, 80, enjoyed the experience. He said that, as a government official, his son was often too busy to spend time with him.

"When he massaged my soles and toes, it not only comforted my feet, but also my heart."

Zhang Jun, 22, was brought to tears as he washed his mother's feet. "I never realized the hardships she had been through until I handled her rough, misshapen feet."

Zhang Jun uploaded his photos to WeChat, attracting many likes from his friends.

Filial piety is the mainstay of Chinese culture, but there are concerns that it is loosing its significance in modern life. Many young people are spoiled due to most being the only child, and are more comfortable taking than giving.

Setting tasks like feet washing is not unusual, but a Huoshaoping-style government order is. Some people are up in arms: should filial piety really be politicized?

Photos of the activity uploaded to social media divided the online community.

"A tiny act like this can make our parents happy," said one social media user.

"Government officials can learn how to serve the people from their own family relationships," said another.

Others were not so positive, accusing the project of being a farce.

One described the whole activity as "a charade... typical formalism" and suggested that many of photos were posed. "I bet the parents washed their own feet after the photos were taken," another post said.

"Mandated filial piety is meaningless," read one particularly philosophical post.

In a commentary in "The Beijing News," published Friday, the township government was described as having "crossed the line" as the order was beyond government remit, and that political intervention distorted the relationship between parents and children.

"Filial piety comes from the heart, not from a compulsory order," it said.

Wu Licai, a politics and rural reform professor of Central China Normal University, said the non-political matter should have been advocated rather than enforced.

"Continuing our legacy of filial piety is not easy; it needs far more than an official order," he said, calling for public participation to build a social atmosphere on family filial piety. Endi