Author/Yuxiang
National People's Congress representative Huang Xihua is preparing to submit a proposal to amend the "Marriage Law" and set the minimum legal marriage age for both men and women at 18 years old. At the same time, cancel the late marriage age limit of men over 25 years old and women over 23 years old, Northeast organic cereals and grains. (People's Daily Online)
Representative Huang also mentioned that China's legal marriage age is the highest in the world and also the highest throughout history. The disadvantages of late marriage include an increase in older mothers, which is not conducive to eugenics and childbearing. Lowering the legal marriage age will help protect the legitimate rights and interests of the widespread group of young people who are already in de facto marriages.
China's legal marriage age is indeed the highest in the world and throughout history. We have compared ourselves with various countries and found that our views on marriage age should not be compared with other countries. Legal marriage is determined by social factors and population development. Clearly, advocating early marriage at this stage does not fit reality. The total population is increasing, high birth rates and low death rates, aging issues, etc., all constrain late marriage and childbearing, which must keep pace with these changes. Otherwise, social contradictions will become prominent, affecting economic development.
Lowering the legal marriage age can lead to changes in teenagers' worldview and values. At 18 years old, one has just come of age, it's the period of full development of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and beauty, and it's the time to acquire knowledge. Getting married at 18 means life decisions made too early, which may drown talents and ambitions due to premature concerns about family livelihoods. In foreign countries, the earlier legal marriage age is determined by political, cultural, economic, and customary reasons. On the one hand, Westerners mature earlier; on the other hand, education in some Western countries is free, even university tuition is extremely low, and there are sound medical insurance systems and housing welfare. Of course, Japan and South Korea also marry early. More importantly, their economic structure and social development have matured.
If the minimum legal marriage age is set at 18 years old, the second-child quota transfer should be suggested and implemented on the same day. By transferring the second-child quota to wealthy families, we can ensure poor families only have one child, thereby securing the lives of the poor. In this way, by lowering the marriage age, the trading of childbirth rights would be like the rampant trade of kidney sales. Wealthy people won't need to go to Hong Kong or abroad to have a second child. It costs hundreds of thousands of yuan to have a second child abroad, which could instead be contributed to helping domestic poor families. At least, when the children grow up, they can still immigrate and enjoy educational rights from other countries. It's said that this suggestion can narrow the gap between rich and poor.
Thus, we draw a conclusion: the benefit of lowering the legal marriage age lies in allowing poor families to quickly transfer their second-child quotas to rich families, fulfilling the wish of 'the wool comes from the sheep itself.' Not only is this absurd and against ethical morality, but it also exploits the reproductive rights of the poor and fosters the shameful act of buying and selling.
Why doesn't lowering the legal marriage age work in China? Although early marriage can enhance independence, it affects learning and life, causing mental pressure, psychological conflicts, and emotional crises to reoccur. Under repression, indulgence leads to drug addiction, corruption, abortion... thus generating a series of negative social effects.
If citizens are given the right to choose whether to marry earlier or later? Everything will naturally fall into place. At least it shouldn't be the current 'naked marriage' or early marriage. The urban population keeps rising, house prices remain high, and various groups such as ant tribe, floating population, moonlight clan, and啃old clan successively become synonymous with cities. It's evident that lowering the legal marriage age is unreliable, increasing costs while adding burdens!
Related thematic articles: She herself appears very stiff. Representative Huang also mentioned that China's legal marriage age is the highest in the world. Lowering the legal marriage age is an absurd notion. People with insight gather here at Tianya Blog and Tianya Community.