Beijing, Oct 30 (IANS) Declining marriage market, gender imbalance and economic pressures in China has resulted in people trying to find life partners from abroad, thus creating opportunities for cross-border matchmaking scams and exposing vulnerable women and desperate bachelors to exploitation, a report has detailed.
The marriage crisis in China has resulted in people finding life partners from abroad, which can result in financial fraud, coercion and human trafficking. Chinese authorities’ recent warnings have indicated that illegal matchmaking networks are exploiting a rising number of unmarried men, especially in rural regions, where they face difficulty in finding a life partner, a report in Mekong News mentioned.
Police in Xintian County in China’s Hunan province recently warned people against cross-border arranged marriages facilitated by unlicensed agencies. In an advisory issued on social media, the police highlighted cases involving exorbitant matchmaking fees, false identities of people, violations of immigration and disputes over children between partners after the marriage ends.
China has been facing the problem due to its demographic legacy, as people for decades preferred sons, and the country’s former one-child policy caused a gender imbalance, leaving tens of millions of men more than women. As a result, men from rural areas and lower-income households often struggle to find a partner in a marriage market where financial security, housing and bride prices have considerable weight, Mekong News reported.
At the same time, domestic marriage registrations have witnessed a drop in China, reaching around 6.1 million unions in the recent figures cited in reports. Less number of marriages and more men of marriageable age has increased competition for finding partners. Some people opt for overseas matchmaking to find a life partner, thus creating a lucrative business.
“Networks operating across Southeast Asia (including Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Madagascar) and other regions, including parts of Africa and the former Soviet Union, reportedly promise Chinese men suitable foreign brides. Some arrangements may be legitimate, but criminal operators exploit the aspirations of both parties. Women can be lured through false promises of employment or marriage, while prospective grooms are persuaded to pay substantial agency charges, bride prices and additional processing fees,” the report stated.
“The fraud can be elaborate. Reports describe staged wedding ceremonies, forged documents and demands for repeated payments, followed by the bride disappearing soon after the money changes hands. In other cases, women may be deceived, coerced or trafficked into marriages. The distinction is crucial: what appears to be matrimonial fraud can also conceal serious crimes against women whose consent and freedom are compromised,” it added.
–IANS
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