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阅读理解
Wives, children and parents left behind in the countryside by migrant workers need special assistance, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said yesterday．
Adult males moving to work in cities, is causing a challenge to the traditional function of bringing up children and supporting the elderly, said Shen Shuji, who is also an official with the All-China Women’s Federation．
Shen recommended certain measures, including a special policy to guarantee educational opportunities for such children, accelerating(加速)the establishment of pension(养老金)and medical care systems in rural areas, and encouraging enterprises and non-governmental organizations to help such families．
The rights and welfare of migrant workers themselves have called much attention in recent years．The government has made policies to protect their rights．
The number of children aged between 6 and 16 in this situation is more than 20 million nationwide, accounting for more than half of the country’s total．Some of the children have both their parents in cities and have to be taken care of by grandparents or other family relatives．
Without enough care from parents, many of them become problem children, Shen said．Wives left at home by their husband have to face hard work, loneliness and a lack of a sense of security．In many cases long-term separation ends up with divorce．
There is still no pension system in China’s countryside．Traditionally, the elderly in rural areas are supported by their children with low incomes．
But the exodus of their children has left many old people in a difficult situation．They have to continue to work in farms while taking care of their grandchildren, Shen said．
The country should gradually scrap(消除)the decades-old bi-polar system separating rural and urban areas, which prevent farmers from enjoying the equal rights．
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