China’s low birth rate is hitting wedding costs soaring

BEIJING – The issues with China’s low birth rate have been further complicated by the high prices that families of potential brides are demanding for traditional dowry. Chinese social media platforms have recently been appalled by the worth one groom’s family would should pay, which has even led to the story being censored by authorities.

The engaged couple in query saw their short engagement collapse after the bride’s family demanded $ 163,000 for the privilege of marrying their daughter. As a result of lack of monetary resources, the couple was forced to interrupt up.

“I all the time thought that exorbitant bride prices were stories that only existed on the Web until it happened to my family,” we read in the primary sentence of certainly one of the positioning’s hottest articles. The author’s cousin fell in love with a girl from Jiangxi Province.

CHINESE COMMISSION SAYS ACCELERATED BIRTH COVID

The article went viral and received around 22 million hits, and plenty of comments congratulate the groom and his family on avoiding terrible in-laws.

People react after they have wedding photos taken near the Forbidden City in Beijing on March 15, 2021.
(REUTERS / Tingshu Wang)

The tradition of dowry giving gifts to the bride’s family had existed in China for tons of of years, and although a 1950 law prohibited forced marriages and all types of asking for property, that practice largely remained.

One among the explanations for the rise in costs was the numerous demographic imbalance in China. The communist nation ended its one-child policy in 2015 and has since resulted in a surplus of around 34 million men as many families preferred to have a son over a daughter. In lots of areas, the common bride price can easily be five times the common annual disposable income, and financial pressures have made it an issue for the Chinese authorities

ANTICIPATED LEAVING OF THE CHINESE POPULATION IN 2025: OFFICIAL

With a population of around 1.4 billion, China continues to be probably the most populous nation on the earth. Nonetheless, given the decline in births through the years, it’s estimated to have hit a record low this 12 months, falling below 10 million from 10.6 million births last 12 months. As well as, China’s fertility rate of 1:16 in 2021 was below the OECD 2: 1 standard for a stable population.

During a conventional Chinese wedding ceremony in Beijing on May 15, 2004, the groom lifts the headscarf that covers the bride’s face. Some young people in China are going back to their roots for more traditional weddings and turning away from Western-style ceremonies which have gained popularity.
(REUTERS / Wilson Chu WC)

To combat low growth rates, the Chinese authorities have recently introduced quite a few measures to encourage couples to have more children, including prolonged maternity leave and other financial incentives. Beijing also introduced a 30-day cooling off period for couples in search of a divorce. Nevertheless, the need to have more children is certainly one of the bottom on the earth. Based on the Chinese government, high bride prices are one other obstacle for young people to start out a family.

Recently, local authorities have enacted quite a few laws to curb exorbitant bride prices. In September, the national authorities also decided to step in after they announced a nationwide trial campaign to “promote a series of standards” and strictly regulate “vulgar standards”. The campaign will last until the top of the 12 months.

CHINA SEE SPIKE IN COVID-19 CASES

Li Zhao, 35, pregnant chooses baby products at a store in Beijing on October 30, 2015. Li Zhao, an office employee who’s six months pregnant, said the one-child policy was cruel as having a baby is a fundamental right civic. Nonetheless, she doesn’t desire a second child for private reasons. China has developed its one-child policy, an emblem of invasive and compulsory government planning for a long time, however the change has been met with disinterested shrugs from many younger couples.
(REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Reuters recently reported that China’s National Health Commission said COVID-19 also contributed to the decline within the variety of marriage and birth rates within the country.

The Reuters report continued that demographers also said that China’s uncompromising “zero COVID” policy quenching all epidemics immediately, with strict control of individuals’s lives, could have caused deep, lasting damage to their desire to have children.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Reuters contributed to this report.