Abstract:

Due to the second population peak after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, the next two decades will witness the unprecedented peak of the younger-age elderly aged 60-69 and a series of related impacts, so we will face rigorous challenges while executing the national strategy of formulating active response on population aging. However, governments at all levels and the society failed to pay great attention to important characteristics of this unprecedented peak. In this light, we should advocate the notion of “positive aging” accepted by the international society and the idea of the elderly’s “social participation”, which has been rated as the guideline of strengthening work on the aging population in the new era. More specifically, promoting the elderly’s “participation” in various ways is the main content of “positive aging” on the one hand, and appropriate participation of the elderly is good for their health on the other. Especially for the younger-age elderly, their appropriate participation will not only encourage them to contribute continually to the economic and social development, but help maintain their “functioning” as well, contributing to healthy aging in mid-21^st century. So in formulating active response on population aging in “The 14^th Five-Year Plan for Social and Economic Development” and “Future Targets for 2035”, it is important to include the significance of the “social participation of the elderly”, pay attention to the appropriate “participation” of the elderly and the risks of their “inadequate or excessive participation”, insist on the principle of appropriate participation which varies from person to person and supplement the main task and measures of healthy aging in future. When all departments are united to formulate plans, National Health Commission should not only retain the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Office for Aging that participated in the formulation of “The 13^th Five-Year Plan for Healthy Aging”, but add the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well.

Key words: the younger-age elderly, positive aging, appropriate participation, healthy aging