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More than 30 years of a one-child population policy makes it hard for Chinese Catholic men seeking wives.
According to official media, there will be 30-40 million more marrying-age men than women in China by 2020. If every woman decides to marry, there will still be one in every five men who fails to find a spouse.
In a parish in Wenzhou diocese, eastern Zhejiang province, a recent event for single Catholics illustrated all too well the serious gender imbalance among Chinese under 30, reported UCANews.
The 50 men who attended found they outnumbered their counterparts by a ratio of 2:1.
“There are too many wolves but too little meat,” one of the men said. “The competition is acute.”
The country’s one-child policy and a traditional preference for male heirs has led to gender-selective abortions and adoption, considered to be the direct cause of the gender imbalance.
Father Peter Xue Ronglei, who organised the singles event, said the gender imbalance allows young women to be less concerned about getting married, but makes it harder for young men with poor family backgrounds or financial conditions to find a wife.
Lucia Zhu, a matchmaker for over 10 years, confirmed the priest’s observation. “There are now more boys than girls. The boys meet their potential partners one after another cursorily, and they still think there are many girls. Indeed, girls now become more treasured,” she said.
“The choices for Catholics are even smaller,” Zhu said, noting that both men and women have high expectations of their future spouse in terms of family background, physique and appearance.
One participant, Joseph, told UCANews he found a woman participant appealing but he believed he has little chance because she is more academically capable than he is.
When John, another participant at the event, was asked about his criteria for a future spouse, he said: “It will be okay for me if there is someone who likes me.”
Source:
One-child policy (Wikipedia)
Image: The Epoch Times
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News category: World.
