become more bilateral and equal. The way respect to elders is expressed is also changing. Communication with elders tends to become more reciprocal and less one-way, and kindness and courtesy is replacing obedience and subservience. Care-giving In modern Chinese societies, elder care has changed much. Studies have shown that there is a discrepancy between the parents' filial expectations and the actual behaviors of their children. The discrepancy with regard to respect shown by the children makes elderly people especially unhappy. Industrialization and urbanization have affected the practice of filial piety, with care being given more in financial ways rather than personal. But as of 2009, care-giving of the young to elderly people had not undergone any revolutionary changes in Mainland China, and family obligations still remained strong, still "almost automatic". Respect to elders remains a central value for East Asian people. Comparing data from the 1990s from Taiwan and the PRC, sociologist Martin Whyte concluded that the elderly in Taiwan often received less support from the government, but more assistance from their children, than in China, despite the former being an economically more modern nation. Work ethos and business practices In mainland Chinese business culture, the culture of filial piety is decreasing in influence. As of 2003, western-style business practices and managerial style were promoted by the Chinese government to modernize the country. However, in Japan, employees usually regard their employer as a sort of father, to which they feel obliged to express filial devotion. Relation with law In some societies with large Chinese communities, legislation has been introduced to establish or uphold filial piety. In the 2000s, Singapore introduced a law that makes it an offense to refuse to support one's elderly parents; Taiwan has taken similar punitive measures. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has attempted to influence its population by providing incentives for fulfilling their obligations. For example, certain tax allowances are given to citizens that are willing to live with their elderly parents. Some scholars have argued that medieval China's reliance on governance by filial piety formed a society that was better able to prevent crime and other misconduct than societies that did so only through legal means. East Asian immigrants Chinese who immigrate to the United States generally continue to send money to their parents out of filial piety. See also Family as a model for the state Honour thy father and thy mother Notes