There is one fact on which all Hong Kong social workers agree: in marriage, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. Rather, it multiplies problems and adds to stress.
Marital breakdown arising from family separation in cross-border marriages is one of the biggest social challenges of the era. After June 30, according to Government estimates, 60,000 mainland children will be able to join their fathers in Hong Kong. The situation then could reach crisis point.
Hong Kong agencies are already under strain, so the establishment of a cross-border marriage counselling service in Guangzhou is more than welcome. Wives can now seek help on the spot if their marriages go wrong, instead of having to wait until they can come to Hong Kong.
In the familiar eternal triangle, communication arranged through the Guangzhou and Hong Kong agencies, between a worried partner on one side of the border and an errant spouse on the other, may prevent an affair or a row from getting out of hand.
A survey by the Caritas Family Service last year showed that 40 per cent of cases involved extra-marital affairs. But there are many other pressures which can break up a family. The mere fact of separation puts an added burden on both partners. A marriage in which man and wife are forced to live apart cannot be an ideal union. Nor is it advisable to have children raised in a split family, seeing one or other parent only occasionally.
After June, it is possible - even likely - that such cases will escalate. Hopefully, the centre in Guangzhou will help to offset the burden facing local social services. For the staff in this much-needed agency, busy times lie ahead.