Third time's the charm? Multiple remarriages on the rise in Hong Kong

Hongkongers have steadfast faith in marriage, going by the number of people joining the ranks of the remarried - with seven times as many people tying the knot for a third time compared with a decade ago.

The jump in the number of people taking their vows for at least the fourth time was even more dramatic, recording a tenfold difference between 2005 and 2014, government figures obtained by the Sunday Morning Post showed.

"This is the age of hi-tech and hi-touch. Technology is making people lonely and more distant because people tend to communicate with one another on the internet without any human contact," said Dr Benjamin Wat Wai-ho, director of the Love Song Family Counselling and Training Association. "As the world promotes the concept of deep romance, people generally have high expectations of marriage as well as a deeper yearning for an intimate relationship. This explains why more divorcees are hoping for 'third time lucky'."

According to the statistics, 27,768 people remarried last year, up 39 per cent from 2005. Among them, 2,191 got hitched for the third time and 189 for the fourth time or above, up from 307 and 17 people respectively a decade ago.

Second-time brides and bridegrooms totalled 25,388 last year, a rise of 30 per cent from 2005. Most were within the age range of 30 to 49.

Wat said the first marital crisis usually happened within the first three years of marriage, when people quickly realised they had made a wrong choice of partner.