appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Fran Lu

A young woman in China took her own life after she was coerced by her family into an engagement with a blind date who only cared about the bride price refund.
The plight of the tragic 19-year-old has been described as a “horror story” by concerned people on social media and reignited discussions about marriage and women’s rights in China.
Tongtong, from central China’s Henan province, was pressured into getting engaged to a man she had only met five days before because her mother thought his better-off financial situation would “make her life easier”.
She and her mother ran a small clothes shop in their hometown.
Tongtong felt reluctant when the man proposed, but her mother and a matchmaker persuaded her to accept.

The man’s family gave Tongtong’s mother a 270,000-yuan (US$40,000) bride price at the engagement ceremony. The matchmaker received a 4,800-yuan (US$700) fee.
She later told the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily that her daughter did not like the man, who was rude and demanding.
Tongtong wanted to break off the engagement, but the matchmaker dissuaded her, saying her mother, a single parent with six children, needed the money.
Always a considerate eldest daughter, Tongtong dropped out of school to work and help her family financially, and looked after her younger siblings.
The desperate young woman threw herself into the river near her home, 17 days after the engagement.
After Tongtong’s death, her fiancé demanded her mother return the bride price.
She gave him 180,000 yuan, but refused to return the rest because the man lied about his age – he said he was four years older than Tongtong but was in fact eight years her senior.
The man’s family insisted on payment, blocking her shopfront with a car and playing messages in a loop over a loudspeaker, demanding the money. They also asked a local television station to report the story.
The mother, the matchmaker and the man all blamed each other for Tongtong’s death.
“This is such a horror story. The girl is a daughter, a wife-to-be, a good financial resource, but never herself,” one online observer wrote on Weibo.
Forced marriage is not uncommon in China, especially in underdeveloped areas.
In 2020, a 17-year-old girl was made to marry a man she had met only six times.

She reported it to the local government, which ordered her parents to cancel the engagement and send her back to school.
In urban areas, unmarried women aged over 30 are usually stigmatised as “leftover women”. They also face pressure from their parents.
In 2021, a doctor in Zhejiang province, eastern China, told of a patient, a woman in her 30s, who suffered from serious depression because her father said she “dropped in price” the longer she stayed single.
China has seen a persistent decline in marriage rates until last year.
The number of newlywed couples dropped from 13.47 million in 2013 for nine consecutive years to 6.83 million in 2022. It rose to 7.68 million in 2023.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.


Chinese man jailed after flat’s high electricity usage exposes breeding of 300 snakes

New China dog rental trend draws warnings of animal stress from frequent handler changes

China zoo offers US$15,000 annual salary for bear costume performer with strict silence clause

Ex-hospital director opens China’s only school for HIV-positive children to provide shelter

Trending in China

China teen kills herself after forced engagement, uncaring fiancé wants bride price refund

A young woman in China has taken her own life after she was forced to get engaged to a man she did not like. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock

A matchmaker persuaded the young woman to accept the man because her mother needed the bride price money. Photo: Shutterstock

 Forced marriage is not uncommon in underdeveloped parts of rural China. Photo: Shutterstock

China woman causes commotion by bringing pet sugar glider onto plane, leading to evacuation

A commotion ensued when a Chinese woman brought her pet sugar glider onto a plane, prompting the evacuation of passengers. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin

A video depicted a flight attendant kneeling on the floor and leaning over to search beneath passengers’ seats. Photo: Weibo 

Guo’s actions sparked anger among the other passengers, leading to everyone having to disembark the aircraft and endure a one-hour delay. Photo: Weibo 

Top professor urges China youth to date more, says ‘hook-up’ culture cannot replace authentic love

A renowned academic in China has warned the country’s young adults that a growing tendency to embrace superficial relationships over real romance will not end well. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock

Young adults in China are shunning real romantic love for superficial relationships. Photo: Shutterstock

A respected academic says that only “meaningful relationships” can offer the support people need. Photo: Shutterstock 

Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves ‘double’ in Thailand videos attract 6 million TikTok views, spark media frenzy

A German man has become a global online hit and sparked a media frenzy in Thailand because of his staggering resemblance to Hollywood superstar, Keanu Reeves. Photo: SCMP composite/TikTok/Lionsgate

Online videos of Andreas “acting up” in Thailand have attracted millions of views. Photo: TikTok

Some people think the German is a stunt double for the Keanu Reeves’ character John Wick. Photo: Lionsgate

Indonesian man discovers woman he married after a year of in-person romance was a man trying to scam him for money

A man from Indonesia uncovers that the person he married following a year of courtship is, in reality, a male individual attempting to deceive him for financial gain. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/TikTok

Less than two weeks after the wedding, doubts emerged when AK observed Kanza’s reluctance to interact with his family and her persistence in wearing her veiled clothing while at home. Photo: QQ.com

The police pointed out that ESH bore a striking resemblance to a woman, particularly when adorned with makeup and possessing a somewhat high-pitched voice akin to that of a woman. Photo: QQ.com

Japanese actor faces online backlash for telling anxious pregnant fan to ‘beg’ husband for pain-free epidural

A famous Japanese actor has been slammed online for offering “male chauvinist” advice to a woman fan who is heavily pregnant. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Weibo

Actor Toma Ikuta has been forced to apologise after facing a barrage of online criticism. Photo: Weibo

Attitudes towards pregnancy are changing in Japan as feminist beliefs take hold. Photo: Shutterstock 

News

People & Culture

‘Considerate’ daughter leaves school to work, helps single mother and family


A teenager in China has killed herself because she was so distraught about being pushed into marriage with a man she did not like.


Women and gender

China teen kills herself after forced engagement, uncaring fiancé wants bride price refund

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}‘Considerate’ daughter leaves school to work, helps single mother and family

‘Considerate’ daughter leaves school to work, helps single mother and family