Name: Ip Lung Yuen (Nardo) SID: 51854750
The divorce rate rising in Hong Kong
For Chinese people, marriage has always been one of the most important things in their lives. However, in Hong Kong, people’s conception on marriage are changing and with conflict between tradition and modernity. As a result, the divorce rate was rising for the last several decades. According to the Census and Statistics Department, there is a crude divorce rate increased rapidly from 0.40 per 1 000 population in 1981 to 2.66 in 2007 in Hong Kong. There are three main factors cause for rising divorce rate in Hong Kong, which are spouses’ infidelity, unconventional marriage pattern and unconventional marriage value.
In China, people are often arranged to marry and their marriage and their marriage are based on family. In Hong Kong, the most Westernized Chinese city, arranged marriage should be seldom occurred and people married based on love. Since love is their foundation of their marriage, people may be less tolerant of their spouses’ infidelity which is different from traditional Chinese concept. While people in today complex society, they have more chance to meet others and so the possibility of getting infidelity is higher than before. We can see that the divorce rate getting higher during the process of westernization of Hong Kong.
Secondly, people have an unconventional marriage pattern now. Generally, a couple may date for a several months or years before getting married in order to trust and rely on each other. However there is a trend that more people accept flash marriage and internet marriage. It may also put the divorce rate upper. Flash marriage is that couple takes a short time from knowing each other to reach the married stage. In this short period, the couple does not completely understand each other enough and most of the case is that they break-up and divorce very soon. For an extreme case that I knew from newspaper, the couple just met and recognized each other at the morning and then they got married in the next few hours. However, they divorced at the afternoon. While internet marriage is that the couple meets, date through the internet only and have never seen each other personally. This kind the marriage is developed since people often using chat room or playing online game on the Internet and they meet others in the virtual world. For this kind of marriage, the couple generally does not have a fully understanding of each other, a solid relationship and a plan for their future life. This marriage pattern may trigger divorce before they getting marry.
Thirdly, the marriage value is changing in people’s mind. In the past, most of the people had a lifelong marriage and their next generation grew in a complete family. Their children had a solid concept of marriage is a lifelong matter so these children might be less possible and resist to divorce. Nowadays, many parents, in Hong Kong, break up easily and their children grow in single-parent family. They do not have the concept of a complete family and do think that married certificate is just a piece of paper. Therefore, when these children grow up and get married, they may be rashly divorce rather than making effort on maintaining relationship with their wife or husband. It is a bad cycle that may make the divorce rate getting higher in the future.
To conclude, spouses’ infidelity, unconventional marriage pattern and unconventional marriage value may be the main causes of rising divorce. Honesty, understanding and lifelong is the key values of married. Divorce rate is rising in Hong Kong.
Words: 595
Reference:
http://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/social-work/divorce-newly-social-problem-in-hongkong.php#ixzz2Ms9EkJjP
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp160.jsp?productCode=FA100055
The divorce rate rising in Hong Kong
For Chinese people, marriage has always been one of the most important things in their lives. However, in Hong Kong, people’s conception on marriage are changing and with conflict between tradition and modernity. As a result, the divorce rate was rising for the last several decades. According to the Census and Statistics Department, there is a crude divorce rate increased rapidly from 0.40 per 1 000 population in 1981 to 2.66 in 2007 in Hong Kong. There are three main factors cause for rising divorce rate in Hong Kong, which are spouses’ infidelity, unconventional marriage pattern and unconventional marriage value.
In China, people are often arranged to marry and their marriage and their marriage are based on family. In Hong Kong, the most Westernized Chinese city, arranged marriage should be seldom occurred and people married based on love. Since love is their foundation of their marriage, people may be less tolerant of their spouses’ infidelity which is different from traditional Chinese concept. While people in today complex society, they have more chance to meet others and so the possibility of getting infidelity is higher than before. We can see that the divorce rate getting higher during the process of westernization of Hong Kong.
Secondly, people have an unconventional marriage pattern now. Generally, a couple may date for a several months or years before getting married in order to trust and rely on each other. However there is a trend that more people accept flash marriage and internet marriage. It may also put the divorce rate upper. Flash marriage is that couple takes a short time from knowing each other to reach the married stage. In this short period, the couple does not completely understand each other enough and most of the case is that they break-up and divorce very soon. For an extreme case that I knew from newspaper, the couple just met and recognized each other at the morning and then they got married in the next few hours. However, they divorced at the afternoon. While internet marriage is that the couple meets, date through the internet only and have never seen each other personally. This kind the marriage is developed since people often using chat room or playing online game on the Internet and they meet others in the virtual world. For this kind of marriage, the couple generally does not have a fully understanding of each other, a solid relationship and a plan for their future life. This marriage pattern may trigger divorce before they getting marry.
Thirdly, the marriage value is changing in people’s mind. In the past, most of the people had a lifelong marriage and their next generation grew in a complete family. Their children had a solid concept of marriage is a lifelong matter so these children might be less possible and resist to divorce. Nowadays, many parents, in Hong Kong, break up easily and their children grow in single-parent family. They do not have the concept of a complete family and do think that married certificate is just a piece of paper. Therefore, when these children grow up and get married, they may be rashly divorce rather than making effort on maintaining relationship with their wife or husband. It is a bad cycle that may make the divorce rate getting higher in the future.
To conclude, spouses’ infidelity, unconventional marriage pattern and unconventional marriage value may be the main causes of rising divorce. Honesty, understanding and lifelong is the key values of married. Divorce rate is rising in Hong Kong.
Words: 595
Reference:
http://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/social-work/divorce-newly-social-problem-in-hongkong.php#ixzz2Ms9EkJjP
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp160.jsp?productCode=FA100055
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