But the Chinese government is trying to end this tradition in order to make weddings more affordable and encourage procreation. In the past, local governments held “zero”.Kairi I looked for the “most beautiful mother-in-law” to reward the bride’s family for participating in the “wedding ceremony” and not asking for money.. He once had women volunteer to sign letters declaring that they were marrying only for love.
In a new legal push, China’s Supreme People’s Court has issued a document on how to resolve betrothal disputes, and the changes will come into effect this month.
The court said extorting money or property under the pretext of marriage is prohibited. We also defined what falls under betrothal gifts and what does not, such as birthday gifts and daily expenses.
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Will China’s ‘Year of the Widow’ quell the ‘dragon baby’ boom amid demographic woes?
The amount paid has continued to increase in recent years, placing a heavy burden on families.
“It poses a hidden danger to marital stability and goes against the promotion of civilized social trends,” the group said.
The court said whether the man could be entitled to compensation would depend on how long the couple lived together, whether they had children, or who was at fault for the separation.
However, experts argue that the betrothal regulations acknowledge that marriage can be exchanged for money and do nothing to solve the problem.
Feng Yuan, co-founder of the Beijing-based Women’s Hotline, said: “Civil law already prohibits ‘using marriage to extort property.’ There is no need for courts to create new rules. No,” he said.
According to Feng, the existence of de facto betrothals “sells” women to male family members, with their price determined based on the length of their marriage and whether they have children.
The new regulations come after years of public complaints about high standards. Kairi. The amount could reach 380,000 yuan ($53,000), about 10 times the average annual salary in China, according to an article in state news agency Xinhua last year.
Women are often accused of being “greedy” even though the money often goes to the family rather than the bride.
But even with government bans and new laws, there are few signs that this tradition will be easily reined in.
Yang Jing, a woman from central Henan province, said the tradition is still strong in her village. She said men must pay an average of 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) and buy an apartment before getting married. In fact, even if she gets married, her family will still expect a lot of money.
“It doesn’t change just because the government asks it to. Men have to compete by giving.” KairiOtherwise, you won’t even be able to find a date,” she said.
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‘I’m a good catch’: Chinese man wants wife with $1,700 monthly salary, car and house
‘I’m a good catch’: Chinese man wants wife with $1,700 monthly salary, car and house
According to Lin Lixia, a lawyer at the Qianqian law firm specializing in women’s rights advocacy, the root of the problem lies in the skewed gender ratio created by years of prioritizing sons.
“In our work, we sometimes see a dozen or so men in a village waiting to get married, but only three women,” she says.
“And even though they had houses, cars, and money, they couldn’t find wives because they were spoiled… Some had drinking and gambling problems and didn’t respect women.”
According to national statistics, there were 30 million more men than women in China at the end of 2023.
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China’s top women’s affairs official vows to promote marriage and family
On the internet, I often see opinions such as “That’s why I didn’t get married” or “I shouldn’t have had children.”
“To fundamentally solve the problem, the government needs to achieve gender equality in family inheritance, distribution of village collective property, access to education, employment, political participation, etc.,” Lin said. .
“We need more propaganda to educate people to change wrong ideas.” [about gender preference]”