Khaberni - In a bizarre and shocking incident that stirred controversy, a Chinese nursing home resorted to hiring a "dancer" to encourage the elderly residents inside to take their medications.
The incident took place in Anyang city, Henan province, northern China, where on September 24, the care home posted a video on their verified social media account showing a woman in a short skirt and schoolgirl outfit dancing provocatively in front of a seated elderly man, while another employee approaches to give him his medicine.
According to the "South China" newspaper, the video was posted with a controversial comment: "Our director does everything possible to encourage the elderly to take their medications."
Wide Controversy
This "unconventional" method triggered widespread outrage online, with many seeing it as an insult to the residents and transgressing norms, and one user sarcastically commented: "Has provocative dancing become part of the elderly care industry?", to which the home's account provocatively replied: "Everything can be associated with provocative dancing!"
Later, the director of the home stated in press remarks that the video was "inappropriate", confirming that the dancer who appeared in the clip is indeed an employee at the elderly care home and not a professional dancer, emphasizing that the home "will take measures to ensure caution in the future".
The director explained that the home usually provides simple recreational activities for the residents such as singing and card games, and that the purpose of the video was to "break the stereotypical image of elderly care homes as boring places".
For his part, one of the workers at the place said: "We wanted to show that life inside care homes is vibrant, but we now realize that the approach we used was controversial and has its pros and cons".
Over 100 Videos Deleted
With the escalation of public anger, the home quickly deleted more than 100 video clips from their social media accounts, while the local authorities announced an official investigation into the incident.
An official in the Anyang civil affairs office said the investigation is ongoing and its results will be announced to the public soon.
This incident occurs at a time when China is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the number of elderly people, with those aged 60 and older expected to exceed 310 million by the end of the year, accounting for 22% of the country's population, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Angry Responses
In this context, one user angrily commented: "Innovation in elderly care is commendable, but it should have its limits". Another added: "This behavior is unquestionably seductive! These are elderly people suffering from health issues; what if one of them had a nosebleed or something worse?", while a third sarcastically wrote: "Are they dancing to encourage them to take their medicine or to persuade them to open their wallets, the intent seems clear!"
