Local governments start ‘marriage encouragement’ campaign by coordinating meetings with social organizations
*Chinese couple taking wedding photos [EPA=Yonhap News Agency]*
” (Beijing=Yonhap News) Correspondent Jung Seong-jo of Yonhap News Agency = In the midst of gender imbalance leading to a decrease in marriages and births, local governments in China have expressed their intention to support ‘leftover men’ marriages at the government level.”
” According to Chinese media including Fengpai on the 25th, the Minjung Department of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern Yunnan Province recently surveyed 32,844 unmarried men aged 35 to 55 within the province, and stated that they will gradually address the issue of elderly youth marriage through government-arranged and voluntary dating methods.”
” The Minjung Department explained that organizations such as the local Communist Youth League and Women’s Federation play roles in educating rural youth on marriage and family, providing free marriage services through female officials in charge of ‘public mediation.'”
” They also mentioned that they provide meeting places for unmarried men through public cultural centers, parks, etc., increase opportunities for finding partners through regular age-specific events, cultural, sports, recreational activities, hobby development, and ‘healthy’ group activities.”
” The Joint Council of Dali Prefecture also plans to hold 13 dating events this year.”
” China is facing a serious gender imbalance situation due to decades of the one-child policy and deep-rooted preference for sons. The 2000 Chinese population census showed that there are 117 boys for every 100 girls.”
” The South China Morning Post reported that Chinese authorities are concerned that the increasing number of unmarried men could lead to social instability. In a 2015 Chinese Communist Party document, Professor Li Sujie of Xian Jiaotong University warned that the phenomenon of ‘surplus men’ could lead to female kidnappings or pornography addiction.”
” The trend of decreasing marriages and births continues. In the first half of this year, the number of marriage registrations in China decreased by 498,000 to 3.43 million compared to the same period last year, marking the lowest level since 2013. The number of newborns in January was the lowest ever at 9.02 million.”
” There are also opinions that more people are choosing to remain single or delay marriage due to economic slowdown, job insecurity, and concerns about the future.”
” This is not the first ‘marriage encouragement’ campaign at the local government level in China.”
” Previously, Ma Jiang County in the Dong and Yunnan Autonomous Prefecture of the southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region disclosed last December that they had identified 2,057 unmarried rural men aged 40 to 49, 1,133 unmarried men aged 50 to 59, and 475 men aged 60 and above and declared their support.”