Chinese traditional culture considered marriage and motherhood
the only real options for women, but today those are only two of
the many choices available.
Miss Wei, 37, is still living on her own in Dalian in Northeast
China's Liaoning Province. A graduate of a prestigious university,
Wei opened her own company several years ago. Listing "driving,
travel, and buying brand-name clothes" as hobbies, Wei said she is
"very satisfied" with single life. She is not celibate, but doesn't
want to compromise her situation by getting married.
In China, more women like Wei are choosing to be single. In 1990
Beijing had only 200,000 unmarried women but today the number in
Beijing and Shanghai, the two largest cities in the country, tops 1
million.
The latest statistics from the All-China Women's Federation show
that in the past five years registered marriages have decreased
annually, dropping by 1 million between 1998 and 2002. Meanwhile,
1.2 million couples divorce every year, leaving many single
mothers.
In addition to choosing to be single, more women are delaying
marriage and motherhood or choosing not to have children at
all.
Horizon Survey and Index Network recently surveyed 1,031
residents aged 18 to 60 in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan
cities. The results show that compared to 1997, 11.3 per cent fewer
respondents chose to have just one child, while 1.1 per cent more
people chose not to have children and 3.9 per cent more preferred
to remain single.
(Xinhua News Agency?? September ?8, 2003)