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PHOTO: A mother's ad calling for her son to come home for Chinese New Year ran on the front page of the Chinese Melbourne Daily newspaper on January 14.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8YvehuVF0UrMq1k_y4o9GAA8LyisP1QMFoC3hHlU7nbmVAXC1EEhndIT36mabMFgLen3_yNPi73egv35V1idWzK2gJ5zTA0wO5xkcFX3PiLaTodKLWbqJ3HUf2DQ6RgcG-7vr60igzzQ/s1600/140116235935-chinese-melbourne-daily-ad-horizontal-large-gallery-1.jpg
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140116235935-chinese-melbourne-daily-ad-horizontal-large-gallery.jpg
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/17/world/asia/chinese-mother-newspaper-ad/index.html
A Chinese mother, desperate for her son to come home for the upcoming Lunar New Year, has placed a full page ad in a newspaper in Australia, saying she won't pressure him to get married anymore.
"Dear Peng, I've called you many times but you don't pick up, maybe you will see this," the anonymous mother wrote, according to a copy of the ad provided to CNN by the newspaper.
"Dad and mom won't ever force you to get married anymore, come home for Chinese New Year! From your mom who loves you."
Texts from his mother's ad
打了好多次电话你也不接 - Called you many times but you don't pick up
Dǎ le hǎo duō cì diàn huà nǐ yě bù jiē
或许在这里才能让你看到 - Maybe here (advertisment) then you will see this
huò xǔ zài zhè lǐ cái néng ràng nǐ kàn dào
爸妈再也不追你结婚了 - Dad and mom won't ever force you to get married anymore
bà mā zài yě bù zhuī nǐ jié hūn le
今年回家过新年吧!- Come home this year for Chinese New Year!
jīn nián huí jiā guò xīn nián ba!
爱你的妈妈。- From your mother who loves you
Ài nǐ de mā mā.
The ad, which appeared on the front page of the Chinese Melbourne Daily on Tuesday, would cost $2,796.80 Australian dollars ($2465), according to its advertising rate card.
The newspaper, which serves the city's Chinese community, has a circulation of 18,000, according to its website.
"We assume from the ad that the mother is from mainland China and her son is living in Melbourne," said Cecil Huang, the paper's editor.
The mother, who lives in Guangzhou had placed the ad after losing contact with her son, reported state-media Xinhua news agency.
Every year around this time, many Chinese prepare to head home for China's most important festival.
But many of the younger generation dread facing family confrontations about their love life.
On the online Chinese forum Tianya.cn, a single man asked for advice on facing his family.
"It's almost that time of the year, how should I explain to my family and relatives that I am single?" a user in Guangzhou "1979xiaozhu" posted.
Many of the replies were telling him to not go home instead.
User "qianlidaiwanwoduxing" wrote: "Going home means they will either arrange blind dates for you or you get scolded."
"This year my mom gave me an ultimatum. One, bring 50,000 yuan, second, bring a wife home. If I don't have both then she said I don't need to come home. What a tragedy," said user "fghjkh84."
Those who can't handle the pressure of nagging parents can rent a boyfriend for the day through China's online shopping giant, Taobao.com.
Rental counterfeit boyfriends come with services such as meeting the parents, shopping and watching movies.
One customer left a satisfied review for her purchase (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.vif5GZ&id=36365911026).
"He was very nice and humorous. He knows how to cook and offers to carry things when shopping. Dad and mom are very happy," the anonymous reviewer wrote.
By Naomi Ng for CNN, Updated 0113 GMT (0913 HKT) January 30, 2014
Reference
PHOTO: Online sellers will post photos of themselves and after confirmation, they’ll meet clients and go over the details that will make them look like a genuine couple and prevent awkward scenes in front of the family.
Picture posted by Rosetiti (Viet Nam Traditional Girl), Photography / People & Portraits / Cosplay©2011-2014 Rosetiti
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http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/248/3/6/viet_nam_traditional_girl_by_rosetiti-d48x3m0.jpg
http://roadfut.deviantart.com/art/Barbara-Evans-XD-274053287
To meet the demands of their customers, online sellers will post photos of themselves and after confirmation, they’ll meet clients and go over the details that will make them look like a genuine couple and prevent awkward scenes in front of the family. So how much did it cost to rent a girlfriend for this year’s Spring Festival, you ask? Anywhere between 200 RMB ($31) to 1,000 RMB ($160), depending on services offered. Apart from just looking pretty at your side, some girls also provided special services like: showing affection in front of your family, cooking, buying groceries, keeping old relatives company, and even worshiping ancestors (a really special service).
If you want your rental to consume alcohol, they will charge you on the amount they have to drink, starting at 50 RMB ($8) for drinking 100 ml white wine, 70 RMB($11) for 100 ml red wine, 20 ($3) RMB for 500 ml beer. Two things none of the sellers will agree to are kissing and making love.
PHOTO: If you look to rent a boyfriend, 301 listings pop up and rates vary from 300 yuan a day to 8.80 yuan, though that gentleman hasn't said if it's an hourly rate.
PHOTO: STR/AFP/Getty Images.
China has some interesting matchmaking and dating practices. There are love hunters who track down potential wives for China’s richest bachelors and there are “leftover women”, who are criticized for being over 27 and unmarried.
In some cases, when a male dies too young, families have “ghost marriages”, exhuming female corpses and marrying the pair.
So, it’s natural for many young Chinese to want to allay their parents’ anxiety over their single-dom. And now they can take to Alibaba-owned online retailer Taobao, tweets George Chen at South China Morning Post.
That’s the equivalent of shopping for a date on Amazon or eBay.
Posted by Mamta Badkar, Business Insider | January 14, 2014 1:32 PM ET
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http://wpmedia.business.financialpost.com/2014/01/china-boyfriend.jpg?w=620
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/01/14/chinas-biggest-online-retailer-taobao-has-a-rent-a-boyfriend-section/
It was probably only a matter of time before someone saw this extremely awkward season as a potential business opportunity. On Chinese shopping site Taobao, young men have been putting themselves up for “rental” to accompany the ladies back to their hometowns and pay respects to the elders as a “boyfriend”.
Photos of these “rental boyfriends” are available, and the prices are also clearly stated, so you can choose one that fits your budget as well as your parents’ and grandparents’ check lists.
These counterfeit companions don’t come cheap though. Rental fees start from 600 RMB (97 USD) a day, and that excludes meals, transport and accommodation.
Any extra costs incurred during interactions with the elders, such as driving them around, would also be charged to the ladies. Hugs, holding-hands, and goodbye kisses on the cheeks are free, but you can pay a little more for extra services: 30 RMB (5 USD) per hour for shopping or catching a movie (double amount for horror movies) together, 50 RMB (8 USD) per hour for having a meal together, and 50 RMB (8 USD) each time for a formality kiss.
Would you ladies out there want to rent a boyfriend like the one in the picture, or, as one of the Chinese ladies put it, “look for a free one”?
By RocketNews24, Tuesday, 21 January 2014
