Photo: VCG

Puppy love, once a taboo at Chinese schools, may now be encouraged as an antidote to China’s long-term challenges stemming from declining birthrates, shrinking workforce and aging population that constrain the social and economic development. 

At this year’s ongoing two sessions, the marriage and relationship problem becomes one of the important causes of population problems, which a policymaker suggested can be addressed through starting education in this respect in preschools as early as possible. 

According to statistics from China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of marriage registrations in China hit a record low of 6.83 million in 2022 since 1986 and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed China's population decreased by 2.08 million people in 2023 to 1.40967 billion.

Statistics from the China Population & Employment Statistical Yearbook 2023 show that the unmarried rate for the 25-29 age group in cities was 56.9 percent and for the 30-34 age group was 20 percent in 2022. While the marriage rate among Chinese youths is getting lower and the age of marriage is getting older, the divorce rate is on the rise.

Ding Jianning, a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and principal of Yangzhou University in East China’s Jiangsu Province, said the problem reflects the lack of love education among Chinese youths. 

In his proposal, Ding noted that marriage and relationship education is not a one-time effort but requires systematic planning and the coordinated efforts of various parties involved including the individuals, families, schools and the society. 

Since college students will represent the main force in constituting Chinese families and marriages over the next decade, strengthening love education among them to develop correct perspectives on marriage and relationships is one of the most crucial channels to address current issues in relationships and even the broader demographic concerns.

According to Ding, the declining year-by-year fertility rate resulted from the spread of multi-culture, lack of love education and other factors that have made some young people to lose faith in marriage and relationship. 

Besides, negative views toward relationship and marriage such as resistance to marriage and childbearing along with the Western individualistic values have widely spread throughout the society and left impact on various age groups of the Chinese population. 

Some media reports which exaggerated problems of Chinese families such as flash marriage and flash divorce, as well as cheating and domestic violence, in order to chase the clout, have also worsened the situation.

Ding said the “leftover singles” in the Chinese society are victims of a distorted view on relationship and marriage. For example, some young men have been dissuaded from marriage because of excessively high value of betrothal gifts. Others do not attach importance to the compatibility of the outlooks on life in the choice of a spouse, but simply pursue external factors such as physical appearance, which leads marriageable individuals becoming “leftover singles,” as well as eventual divorces after finding it difficult to communicate after getting married. 

Ding suggested to popularize love education among students, help them form correct views before they reach the marriageable ages, have clear expectation and attitudes toward their spouses can greatly reduce the tragedies in marriage and largely improve their happiness. 

In order to create a positive marriage environment, Ding suggested a joint effort from the government, publicity department, civil affairs departments and schools. 

Ding noted that the education on love is not something that can be achieved overnight but something needs to be integrated into the school curriculum with systematic education and guidance. 

He suggested to start love education as early as in preschool period, lay a solid knowledge foundation in primary school, form a preliminary and correct view of love and marriage in middle school stage and further conduct popularized education on relationship, marriage and family in college. Besides, parents should also improve their capabilities in educating their children in this aspect through education. 

Meanwhile, Ding advocated related government department to initiate the setup of an official matchmaking platform with multiple channels such as big data and the internet to build a “magpie bridge” for young people. 

Global Times