China has implemented new rules to help tackle a looming demographic crisis. It has allowed migrant workers to register their marriages in the cities where they reside, instead of having to travel back to their hometowns. The State Council, China’s cabinet, has approved a regulation that permits residents from 21 provinces and municipalities, predominantly in eastern and central China, to register their marriages based on their residence permits.
This change is significant as it eases the burden of travel for the hundreds of millions of migrant workers in the country, reports state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday.
Previously, prospective couples were required to return to the city or country of their household registration, known as hukou, to register their marriages.
The hukou system determines individuals’ access to public services such as education and healthcare. However, in recent years, some regions have introduced residence permits that provide limited access to social services for individuals whose hukou are tied to a different area. For instance, in Beijing, individuals without a Beijing hukou can obtain a permit to access certain social services like healthcare.
The primary objective of the new regulation is to alleviate the travel burden faced by migrant workers. According to state broadcaster CCTV, China had 376 million migrants in 2020, with over 120 million of them moving across provinces.
While some individuals praised the convenience brought about by the new regulation, others expressed scepticism about its ability to increase the marriage rate.
A comment on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, questioned, “Do you think people don’t get married because it’s not convenient to register?”.
China has experienced a decline in population for the first time in six decades, with the national birth rate reaching a record low of 6.77 births per 1,000 people in 2022. In comparison, the birth rate in the United States during the same period was 12 births per 1,000 people.
In recent months, the Chinese government has implemented several measures to encourage marriage and childbirth, including relaxing its one-child policy, enhancing maternal healthcare and pay, and providing financial support to families with more than two children.
Furthermore, the government has taken steps to address the issue of huge dowries in rural areas, which can reach up to 1 million yuan (US$142,000).
In the city of Harbin, authorities have established a “green channel” for students at the Harbin Institute of Technology to register their marriages over the weekend. This initiative, as per online news outlet Jimu allows eligible university students to obtain their marriage certificates without having to wait in long queues.
