SO KLOSE 緣來這麽近

A group wedding of "mixed" couples from China's Hong Kong and mainland. [Wenhui]

Hong Kong's gender ratio problem worsens. Statistics show that the SAR gender gap widened in 2008 to a women-to-men ratio of 1,000:898 from that in 2007 of 1,000:905.

Among Hong Kong's 18 districts, the gender ratio issue is most striking in Wan Chai, where there are 1,000 women to every 764 men. Local marriage bureaus say that men in Hong Kong now have the pick of the crop, and that women are starting to look to the mainland for spouses.

The Hong Kong census of 2008 shows a drop in male population per 1,000 females of between five and thirty. This change was most noticeable in Tsuen Wan District, where the 2007 women:men ratio of 1,000:913 widened in 2008 to 1,000:883, equivalent to 30 fewer men per thousand women. .

The second most dramatic change occurred in Yuen Long District, where the 2008 women:men ratio was 1,000:932, or 29 fewer men per 1,000 women than in 2007. The areas of Sai Kung, Tai Po, Wong Tai Sin, and other southern districts, however, showed a higher percentage of men in 2008.

People in Hong Kong are marrying later, according to economist Kwan Cheuk Chiu, citing the average 28-to-29 age at which Hong Kong generally women wed. Late marriage affects the birth rate, increases the aging population and creates a heavier social burden. Kwan thinks the wider gap in Tsuen Wan District's gender ratio may be due to shifts in its population to other districts. Changes in the incomes of male citizens tend to be reflected in their moves to either more up-market or cheaper housing. The "missing" male population of one district thus reappears in the statistics of another.

(Source: wenweipo.com- chinanews.com.cn/ Translated by womenofchina.cn)

Source: http://www.womenofchina.cn/Issues/Marriage_Family/210054.jsp