Devotional snail mail in the PRC
November 1, 2011 11:24 PM   Subscribe

China's post office is not normally a place you would associate with love. However, Beijing authorities, alarmed at the skyrocketing divorce rate, are promoting a new service in which the post office will send a love letter to your partner – after a delay of seven year [sic].

From The Telegraph: China's courts reinterpreted the country's marriage law [In August 2011] to ensure that any property bought by the groom before the marriage would not be shared in the event of the divorce in a move apparently designed to entrench marriage, but one that angered many Chinese women.

From FPP article: "Women don't have the same financial burden when they marry," said Mr Gao. "Men have more responsibilities as we are expected to buy a home. So maybe this will make our lives easier."

From another Telegraph article: "I think the status of women is even lower than in the old days, when women didn't work and stayed at home. At least, they were protected then.
"Now, women face a lot more pressure than men in the workplace but their obligation to the family is the same as it was in the old days," said Mrs Zhang.
posted by obscurator (16 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
The last thing I would often wish to receive was a near-to-decade old letter from an ex. This may lead to an increase in post office shootings, rather than vow renewals.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:35 PM on November 1, 2011 [2 favorites]


If your relationship in trouble, is a 7 year old letter from snookums really going to help? Maybe you should have been more thoughtful and romantic in years 1-6?

As for the property rights change, well that sucks, seems to work as a mandatory pre-nuptial agreement.
posted by arcticseal at 12:24 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


big lover is watching
posted by pyramid termite at 12:26 AM on November 2, 2011 [7 favorites]


They need to provide a similar service where sleazy corrupt officials can record the exact financial arrangements they've made with their young mistresses, so that seven years later she can look back and wonder if it was worth it and the proper authorities can use it during asset discovery as they try to extradite him and his stolen public money from Canada.
Plus, I do love the Post Office; there's never a queue to pay your bills like there is at the bank, and the service has that cosy old-time state-run warm-but-shoddy feel.
posted by Abiezer at 12:26 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


I like the seven-year delay on the love letters. You could use them for other stuff, too. "Yes, it's been seven years since you were such an asshole to me, and I'm sure I'm over it by now. You, however, are inevitably still an asshole."
posted by pracowity at 1:39 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


So the men buy the home, the women live in it, and the mailman picks up the letter, hides in a hedge for 7years, then pops back out and gives it to the woman? wtfchina
posted by mannequito at 2:52 AM on November 2, 2011


As a solution to a real problem, this is short-sighted, cockamamie, and yet oddly wistful for government work. Why didn't we think of this first?
posted by Maaik at 3:37 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


Confucius Says:

A relationship is the opportunity to do something you hate with someone you love.
posted by Renoroc at 5:21 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]


I think this story is sweet, and I like romantic optimism better than MeFi cynicism. Just saying.
posted by jwhite1979 at 7:43 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


China has a lot of fucked up expectations and baggage surrounding marriage but hey, this seems sweet to me. While it might not have a significant effect on divorce rates, or even affect the root reasons why divorces happen, this seems like a nice, valuable, and thoughtful service for a government to provide.
posted by Blasdelb at 8:52 AM on November 2, 2011


It's just a bit disconcerting, "the authorities are concerned" being the impetus for such a stopgap measure. Somehow sweet on the surface, I think it's a preemptive measure to try and cut down on harsh divorce litigations down the line. But the nanny elementary-school-teacher state politics is more endearing than most things we hear out of PRC.
posted by obscurator at 10:00 AM on November 2, 2011


Aw. I would totally do this. I think it's sweet (although it's not going to address the issue of divorce). Anyone want to volunteer to hang on to a love letter for me for a few years?
posted by arcticwoman at 10:06 AM on November 2, 2011


sleep 2556d; cat loveletter.txt | mail -s "Love you!" recipient@example.com
posted by kmz at 10:27 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


Given past experiences this seems like the usual amount of time required to send a letter through the Chinese mail.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:22 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


This interesting, because I was just listening to an NPR report this morning about older divorcees/retired singles who've turned the Shanghai Ikea store into an informal matchmaking club.
posted by Dr. Zira at 1:12 PM on November 2, 2011


Shanghai Ikea store
previously here..
posted by obscurator at 2:05 PM on November 2, 2011


« Older Hard candy is a type of glass   |   Espionage Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments