On October 10th, the State Council Information Office held a series of themed press conferences on "Completing the 14th Five Year Plan with High Quality" to introduce the achievements of civil affairs development during the 14th Five Year Plan period. Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Zhenguo introduced that by the end of 2024, the elderly population aged 60 and above in China will reach 310 million, accounting for 22% of the total population; The elderly population aged 65 and above reached 220 million, accounting for 15.6% of the total population. In recent years, China has actively responded to the policy system of aging population, continuously improved the level of protection for the elderly, effectively safeguarded their legitimate rights and interests, and played an active role. Population aging is a fundamental national condition in China for a considerable period of time in the future. The construction of an elderly friendly society cannot be separated from the guarantee of the rule of law. The elderly are a valuable asset of the Party and the country. By leveraging their expertise and role, better ensuring their participation in political, economic, cultural, and social life is an important task in implementing the national strategy to actively address population aging. Supporting the social participation of the elderly and promoting their ability to contribute requires a sound policy and legal environment to provide protection. In April of this year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and 19 other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Social Participation of the Elderly and Promoting the Achievement of Elderly Care", which clearly stated that by 2029, the policy and legal environment supporting social participation of the elderly will be initially established. Therefore, it is necessary to safeguard the legitimate rights of the elderly, such as the right to know and the right to participate. When formulating or revising laws, regulations, rules, public policies, and standards for barrier free environment construction, the opinions of the elderly and their organizations should be heard regarding major issues related to the rights and interests of the elderly. Through government transparency, the elderly can participate to a greater extent in the formulation, implementation, and supervision of policies related to the elderly, and improve the response speed of the government in formulating public policies and managing public services related to the elderly. To build an elderly friendly society, it is necessary to further increase the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly. In recent years, China's aging policy and regulatory system has become increasingly perfect, and illegal and criminal activities that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly have been severely cracked down on and effectively curbed. The protection of the rights and interests of the elderly has achieved significant results. However, it should also be noted that with the deepening of China's aging population, conflicts, disputes, and infringement cases involving the elderly occur from time to time. Some places and departments lack awareness of the importance and urgency of protecting the rights and interests of the elderly, and the coordination of elderly rights protection departments is insufficient. Professional services need to be strengthened, and the mechanism for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly needs to be further improved and perfected. In this regard, it is necessary to implement relevant laws and regulations such as the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, and refine and improve related supporting policies. At the same time, we will focus on the prominent issues of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly, and promote the establishment and improvement of a closed-loop mechanism for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly through early warning and prevention, detection and reporting, and resolution and disposal. We will strive to solve the prominent problems of safeguarding the rights and interests of the elderly. Building an elderly friendly society on the track of the rule of law is an inevitable requirement for actively responding to the implementation of the national strategy of population aging, so that the elderly can not only have a sense of security, happiness, and achievement in their old age, but also share the fruits of reform and development and enjoy a happy old age. (New Society)