Nepal cracks down on illegal 'bride buying' for Chinese nationals

Authorities in Nepal have escalated their efforts to combat illegal cross-border matchmaking in light of claims indicating that brokers and online intermediaries have been promoting Nepali women as prospective brides for Chinese citizens, according to a report from Chinese media.

The intensified crackdown on "bride buying" was prompted after Nepal's immigration officials found in November numerous young Nepali women residing in rented accommodations with Chinese nationals in Kathmandu, the national capital.

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Chinese men acknowledged that they recorded the women and sent the videos to acquaintances back home, besides sharing them on social media. However, they did not clearly specify the intent behind the recordings, as reported by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

Nepalese authorities deported four Chinese nationals on grounds of violating visas, saying there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges over allegations that the women were being forced into marriages in China.

China too warns citizens

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal also issued a New Year’s travel advisory warning its citizens against what it described as “bride buying” in the country, urging them not to blindly trust matchmaking agencies and brokers and stressing that deceptive or profit-driven cross-border matchmaking is illegal in China.

“Fully understand the legal, cultural, property division and child custody risks involved in cross-border marriages,” the notice said.

“Do not easily believe in cross-border matchmaking … stay away from illegal marriage brokers.”

The warning, posted last Friday (December 26), follows a series of recent cases in the Himalayan nation that have drawn attention to suspected illegal matchmaking activity involving Chinese nationals, as well as a broader shift by online brokers towards South Asia, the report said.

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Some matchmaking agencies were charging between 5,000 yuan (USD 713) and 188,000 yuan (USD 26,830), marketing the process as “simple and easy”, the report quoted Chinese media.

'Chinese citizens held in Nepal for crimes'

“In recent years, several Chinese citizens who came to Nepal to find wives through illegal matchmaking agencies have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, child marriage, rape and other crimes,” the embassy said in its statement.

China’s demand for overseas brides is often linked by researchers to its skewed sex ratio, which official figures put at about 104 men for every 100 women.

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The disparity, developed over the years due to birth-control regulations and a societal inclination towards male offspring, has resulted in countless men facing difficulties in securing partners. Some individuals resort to paid matchmaking services that promise to arrange marriages overseas.

Poor young women fall vulnerable

Activists and authorities say such services often exploit young women in poorer countries, promoting marriage as a pathway out of poverty while obscuring legal, financial and personal risks.

Women and girls from Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam have previously been trafficked and sold as wives in China, the report said.

(With agency inputs)