Tensions between mainland Chinese and Hongkongers might feel as high as ever, but that isn’t stopping more and more Hong Kong women from looking across the border for a mate.
In fact, the number of women doing just that each year has more than tripled over the past two decades, according to a new report by think tank the Hong Kong Ideas Centre (HKIC).
Citing data from Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department, HKIC said that the number of Hong Kong women marrying mainland men jumped from 2,190 in 1997 to 7,626 in 2016.
But while the numbers are up for female Hongkongers, marriages between Hong Kong men and mainland women are actually down significantly.
The report, released Tuesday, shows the number of Hong Kong men-mainland women unions – traditionally far more common — dropped from 28,309 in 1997 to just 15,300 last year.
So why are Hong Kong women looking across the border more frequently?
HKIC’s report, the second of its kind, found that women in the city consider mainland men more generous, better educated, and possessing more promising career paths. Mainland men, meanwhile, view Hong Kong women as independent and responsible.
The report polled 804 people who entered into cross-border marriages and conducted in-depth interviews with 33 people between June and July.
Separately, the survey’s findings also show that 55 percent of respondents living in Hong Kong are considering moving to cities in China’s Guangdong province due to the high housing prices and the overcrowded living conditions in the city.
It’s also a function of the fact that Hong Kong women are more apt to follow their mainland husband’s decision in terms of where they will reside, HKIC executive director Anna Lai told online outlet EJ Insights.
Interestingly, the average age difference between couples has dropped steeply since 2001, when men were on average nine years older than their brides. Only three years separate the sexes in the average union today, the report says.
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