WUNRN
Experts
warn that "temporary marriages" are hurting society by contributing
to the rise in rural divorce rates --- which have reached over 50 percent in
some areas --- and resulting in many broken homes and blighted childhoods.
CHINA - MIGRANT WORKERS IN
"TEMPORARY MARRIAGES" - SOCIAL CONCERNS
By Zhou Jing & Zhou Rui -
Editor: Zhu Yanhong - August 29, 2013
China's
rapid development has given rise to internal migration that has seen more than
160 million migrant workers leave their rural homes to work in cities or towns.
Many of these workers live for months at a time apart from their spouses and in
recent years, the phenomenon of 'temporary marriages' has aroused public
concern.
Faced with loneliness and boredom, many migrant workers form temporary relationships
with other workers. They often live as husband and wife, despite having spouses
and children back home or in other cities.
Recent media reports have revealed that there may be over 100,000 migrant
workers in such temporary marriages.
National People's Congress (NPC) deputy Liu Li says she has encountered many
such couples and points out that they contribute to the rise of rural divorce
rates. She has suggested that the government pay more attention to the issue.
Fighting Loneliness Together
Zhang Wei and Chen Li work in Qiaosi Township in Hangzhou, capital city of
east China's Zhejiang Province, and are involved in a temporary marriage. Their
arrangement is common in Qiaosi, an important textile base in Zhejiang.
Zhang, 30, comes from Fuyang in east China's Anhui Province. His wife and
children live back home and he only returns once a year for a few days during
the annual Spring Festival.
Chen is two years younger than Zhang and also comes from Anhui Province. Her
two children and her husband are back home, running the family farm. The two
met at the factory that they work at and became close.
"Working alone, far away from my family makes me feel lonely and bored.
When I talk to my wife on the phone, the only thing she asks is for more
money," said Zhang. "It makes me feel unloved."
Finally, unable to take the loneliness any more, Zhang approached Chen about
forming a temporary marriage.
"At first, I felt it was a hard decision. I have children and a husband
back home, but Zhang has shown me so much care and affection," said Chen.
However, she thought it over and finally agreed after considering the fact that
her husband had also had an extramarital affair before. In addition, she talked
to many of her women friends who were in similar situations and all told her
that they were much happier now.
Zhang and Chen have remained in such a relationship for four years but neither
of them has considered divorcing their respective partners because they both
have children and do not want to break up their families. They send money home
from time to time and admit that they sometimes send more because they feel
guilty.
Although Zhang and Chen are a typical example, there are in fact instances
where temporary marriages have resulted in divorces. When Liu Mei, a migrant
worker in Zhejiang Province, fell pregnant, her temporary 'husband' Xian Bo
divorced his wife and stayed with her.
Opinions
The issue has caused a certain polarization of opinions, with many Chinese
netizens saying that it is unavoidable and understandable since these workers
live separated from their families for such long periods of time and others
condemning it as illegal and morally wrong.
Experts have said that the phenomenon reflects the normal physical and emotional
needs of these migrant workers. Some have added that it may also be a result of
the workers feeling relatively free and unmonitored in their new urban homes.
However, the experts warn that motivations aside, temporary marriages are
hurting society by contributing to the rise in rural divorce rates --- which
have reached over 50 percent in some areas --- and resulting in many broken
homes and blighted childhoods.
Yang Jianhua, a researcher with the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, says
that children are the biggest victims in these cases as divorce has a negative
impact on children and their parents' temporary marriages may result in them
forming distorted marriage values.
NPC deputy Liu believes that the best way to address the issue is to make it
easier for migrant couples to stay together. She has recommended lowering the
application standard of indemnificatory houses required of migrant workers and
making public housing more affordable to them.
Yang says that it is not practical to rely solely on the government to solve
the problem. Society and the migrant workers themselves have a part to play.
For example, society should provide more cultural and entertainment activities
to the workers to help counteract their boredom and loneliness. Enterprises
should ensure that their employees enjoy enough vacation time to see their
families. And the workers should realize that while temporary marriages can
fulfill their short-term needs, they could lead to disastrous consequences in
the long run.
The phenomenon has also once again highlighted the need for the government to
change China's household registration or hukou system, since many of
the migrant couples are separated in the first place because their rural
families are unable to enjoy urban hukou-related benefits such as
housing, education, senior citizen care and more.
It is to be hoped that with relevant steps taken by all parties involved,
migrant workers will no longer have a need for temporary marriages.