Sebastien Le Belzic
modified to
07:09, February 14, 2022
Valentine’s Day is very popular in China where 62% of couples have planned to celebrate it according to an Ipsos survey, compared to 54% in France. And this year, the Communist Party organizes in several big cities of the country of the evenings meetings for singles in order to revive the marriage and the birth rate.
Romantic music and a bed of roses: this is the program for this Valentine’s Day in several cities in China. Valentine’s Day is very popular in the country, with 62% of couples planning to celebrate it according to an Ipsos survey, more than in France (54%). But in China this year, it is a rather special Cupid who is at work: the Communist Party. To revive the birth rate, he wants to revive marriages which have halved in ten years.
Xiaofei is one of the wedding planners. “There is a huge demand from young people to make friends and get married,” he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. “Now the pace of life is rather fast, the pressure of work is important .”
A desire for freedom and independence
Among those interested in these marriages, Li Yu, 25 years old. She hopes to find a shoe that suits her in the hundred or so singles present. “I think that the connection events organized with the support of the government are more reliable”, estimates the young Chinese person at the microphone of Europe 1, who continues: “Today, most young people aspire to freedom and independence. Sometimes you feel that having children can become a burden.”
Since last year, China has allowed all couples to have three children. But births continue to fall and the government has therefore decided to launch a major campaign to put the family back at the heart of Chinese society.