Road to 5**﹕Hong Kong women marrying mainlanders
【明報專訊】◆Source A
Marriages between Hong Kong and mainland people (See picture)
◆Source B
An article published by the overseas section of the People's Daily, titled “Hong Kong women marrying mainland guys – what are they after?”, claims that the practice is now commonplace.
Citing a study conducted by the Hong Kong Ideas Centre, the article suggests that those dating mainland men are mostly well-educated and financially independent women who are hoping to find men of similar standing. Let down by Hong Kong males in the same age bracket, the respondents say that mainland males are more generous and forthright compared to their Hong Kong counterparts.
The respondents also believe that living on the mainland is not a sacrifice, as they can be elevated from ''ordinary middle-class people'' to ''middle- to high-class people'', and might even make their way to the upper echelons of society. “With the same amount of money, it is possible to live in a luxurious house, drive a luxury car and dine in a classy restaurant on the mainland, which is not possible in Hong Kong”.
The article concludes by predicting more Hong Kong women marrying mainland men given increasingly frequent interactions between the two regions, growing prevalence of work and studies across the border and the popularity of online dating.
Source: Ming Pao
■Questions and answering guidelines
1. Referring to Source A, identify and explain the trend in marriages between Hong Kong and mainland people in recent years.
It is important to focus on the phenomena demonstrated by the data, which include:
． Drop in the number of Hong Kong-mainland marriages: As shown in Source A, cross-border marriages had been on the decline since 2012.
． Hong Kong females comprised an increasing percentage of those marrying a mainlander: As shown in Source A, although Hong Kong males accounted for the majority of Hong Kong-mainland marriages, the number of Hong Kong females marrying a mainlander was increasing.
2. Referring to the above sources as well as your own knowledge, offer some explanations for the growing phenomenon of Hong Kong females marrying a mainlander in recent years.
．Changes in Hong Kong women's perception of men from the mainland
20 years after the handover, the two regions are getting closer economically and culturally. Hong Kong women's perception of the mainland has also changed. According to Source B, men from the mainland are more generous and forthright than Hong Kong men, and some of them have studied abroad and have better career prospects. To a certain extent, they are more attractive than Hong Kong men. Decades after the Reform and Opening Up, the mainland is becoming increasingly affluent, prompting Hong Kong women to choose well-to-do mainland males.
．Rising trend in cross-border pursuits of studies and work
In recent years, the number of mainland students studying in Hong Kong has been increasing steadily. Many of these students even choose to stay in Hong Kong to work and develop their careers, which helps bridge the cultural gaps between the two regions.
．Popularity of social networking applications
Thanks to the advent of smartphones, social networking applications have become vastly popular. The recent years have seen the emergence of a multitude of dating apps. These apps have nurtured a lot of relationships and marriages between people living in the two regions. In Hong Kong, where there is a gender imbalance, dating apps are used by women to find loved ones.
Text: 徐溯, Liberal Studies teacher at Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui College
Translation: Terence Yip
[通通識 第542期]
