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China's 'leftover women', unmarried at 27
Census figures for China show that around one in five women aged 25-29 is unmarried. The proportion of unmarried men that age is higher - over a third. But that doesn't mean they will easily match up, since Chinese men tend to "marry down", both in terms of age and educational attainment. "There is an opinion that A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women," says Huang Yuanyuan. "The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality." But it's the "A-quality" of intelligent and educated women that the government most wants to procreate, according to Leta Hong-Fincher. She cites a statement on population put out by the State Council - China's cabinet - in 2007. "It said China faced unprecedented population pressures, and that the overall quality of the population is too low, so the country has to upgrade the quality of the population." Some local governments in China have taken to organising matchmaking events, where educated young women can meet eligible bachelors. The goal is not only to improve the gene pool, believes Fincher, but to get as many men paired off and tied down in marriage as possible - to reduce, as far as possible, the army of restless, single men who could cause social havoc.
Posted by: 2013-02-22 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=362810 |