100 Vietnamese brides 'flee Chinese husbands' after wedding
More than 100 Vietnamese brides who vanished after marrying bachelors from a poor rural area of the mainland are being sought by police, with reports suggesting an "organised ring" was behind the disappearance.
More than 100 Vietnamese brides who vanished after marrying bachelors from a poor rural area of the mainland are being sought by police, with reports yesterday suggesting an "organised ring" was behind the disappearance.
The men, from Quzhou , Hebei province, were introduced to the women by Wu Meiyu, a Vietnamese bride who had lived in the area for 20 years, mainland media reported.
Wu, who received payments of more than 100,000 yuan (HK$126,000) for successful introductions, disappeared with the women.
A state-run newspaper cited an unnamed local official saying that an organised ring may have been involved in the mass disappearance.
"With today's advanced communications, it's easy for all the brides to leave at the same time," he said.
Buying wives from Southeast Asian countries has become increasingly common in some of the mainland's poor rural areas, where a gender imbalance has developed due to a traditional preference for sons and the country's family planning policies. Across the mainland, 118 males are born for every 100 females, according to government statistics.