Source:
https://scmp.com/article/717477/materialism-rules-hunt-mr-right

Materialism rules in hunt for Mr Right

It's long been said in China that nothing goes right for a poor couple, but the pressure on young women to search for a wealthy Mr Right is now more intense than ever.

One of this year's most popular television shows, If You Are The One - a prime-time dating show with materialism at its core, broadcast on weekends by Jiangsu Satellite TV - is just one illustration of the phenomenon.

Viewers don't necessarily care if the show's guests fail to find a mate, they just tune in for their blunt language - mostly centred around money - which gives them a chance to tut-tut at declining moral standards, before logging onto the internet to search for more information about them.

And guests don't try to conceal their admiration of wealth. One female guest, Ma Nuo, became an overnight star when she told an unemployed suitor she would prefer to cry in a BMW than smile on a bike. Another guest, Zhu Zhenfang, kept things simple. Her sole requirement for a boyfriend was that he earned at least 200,000 yuan (HK$227,000) a month.

Male guests, abandoning the Chinese tradition of cautiously camouflaging wealth, show off their bank balances, luxury cars and property. Unlike other dating shows, If You Are The One details most of each male guest's income and assets. Such openness has led the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to order a crackdown on excessive materialism and other 'uncorrected and unhealthy marriage values' in match-making programmes.

A Jiangsu Satellite TV spokeswoman told The Southern Metropolis News on Wednesday that it had not been ordered to cease production of the show, despite heavy speculation about its future following the issuing of the order on June 9.

The programme went to air last weekend but many internet users said its guests were not as outspoken as usual.

Whether the crackdown will have any long-term impact is anyone's guess.

If You Are The One features 24 single women who judge a bachelor by questioning him and watching a short video about him. They turn off their lights if they think he's not suitable. If there are any lights still on after three rounds of screening, the man gets to date one of the women.

Male guests with decent assets are pursued fiercely, while those without a house or car soon see the lights go out. It's a common phenomenon on the mainland, where the market economy has penetrated almost every corner of society.

There's long been a tradition on the mainland that a groom's family must prepare some basic household essentials to greet his bride. Those goods were a bicycle, watch and sewing machine in the 1970s and a TV set, washing machine and fridge in the 1980s. Now the list starts off with a house and a car.

But houses are not so affordable any more, with prices skyrocketing in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and people are dividing into two groups: house buyers and renters. People buying property think they are a cut above renters. What's more, they say, when you rent you work for the landlord, but after buying a house you work for yourself.

Those preferring to rent insist that they enjoy more freedom and avoid becoming 'house slaves', those struggling to pay off big property loans. They say that in advanced economies, only about half the population owns property.

Gu Yunchang, deputy director of the China Real Estate Research Association, said potential mothers-in-law played an important role in escalating property prices.

Gu elaborated on the so-called 'bride's-mother economy', saying: 'The couple is going to get married, but the man has not yet decided to buy a house. The fianc?e's mother will ask the man for a 'discussion', after which the man will try his best to raise money, through ways ranging from selling stocks to pawning items.'

Gu said such 'extremely rigid demands' would help prevent the sizzling housing market from cooling off any time soon.

Weddings are also a money pit, China News Service reports, with spending on weddings each year totalling roughly 400 billion yuan - 2.5 per cent of the mainland's gross domestic product. Wedding-related costs, including photos, dresses, feasts and honeymoon travel, average at least 100,000 yuan in big cities like Shanghai.

Male guests on If You Are The One who cannot flaunt their wealth see all the lights go out and the same thing happens in the real world. Many poor men on the mainland are labelled losers, especially by female friends. Some internet users sigh that it is impossible to find a non-materialistic girlfriend.

But that doesn't seem to be worrying the mainland's womenfolk. They're ignoring the male gripes and sticking to their guns. As the outspoken Zhu said on If You Are The One: 'I am genuine. I firmly believe that a rich man will marry me.'