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Bride prices are surging in China
Why is the government struggling to curb them?
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The practice of a bride price remains deeply entrenched in China.
PHOTO: AFP
The Economist
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Marriage in China can be mercenary. “Is 380,000 yuan (S$67,000) a lot for a bride price?” a woman in Guangdong asks on a social media site. She is thinking of getting married and wants to know how much her fiance’s family should pay for her hand. The sum she is suggesting is more than seven times her annual wage.
Thousands reply; many say she should demand more. “Sis, life is your own, don’t wrong yourself, at least ask for 888,800,” says one.
