The author of the article needs to be understood within the cultural backdrop that’s a part of his identity. For centuries China and other Asian countries have abided by a deeply-rooted “social contract” between parents and children where parents take care of their young until socially and economically established and they in turn take care of their parents as they become feeble and dependent. The author’s description of his parents’ behavior and attitude toward educational investment and the ensuing experience of guilt by the author due to his sense of filial piety are highly consistent within the cultural context. Here’s an interesting article that sheds more insights on this topic, if anyone’s interested:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-15-fg-piety15-story.html