[Regnum] The Shuntian Chemical Group company from the Chinese city of Linyi (Shandong Province) sent out letters to its employees demanding that they marry before the end of September 2025. Otherwise, they faced dismissal, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
"Not responding to the government's call to improve marriage rates is disloyal. Not listening to parents is disrespectful. Allowing yourself to be single is defiant. Not living up to the expectations of your colleagues is unfair," the document says.
The order applied to all single or divorced workers between the ages of 28 and 58.
According to the company's internal regulations, those who fail to get married by the end of March must write a letter of self-criticism. Those who remain single by June face an assessment of their professional performance. In the fall, single employees were promised dismissal.
The social media backlash and government intervention led to the repeal of the requirement. The local Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security said the company had violated labor laws and demanded that the pressure on employees be stopped immediately.
The management of Shuntian Chemical Group, in turn, claimed that in this way they supported the government's policy of increasing marriages in the country. As a result, the company abandoned the harsh measures, and no one was fired.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, in November 2024, the authorities of the Chinese city of Lüliang (Shanxi Province) decided to pay 1,500 yuan (about 20,000 rubles) to newlyweds if the bride is under 35 years old at the time of the wedding. The payments will be received by couples who registered their marriage from January 1, 2025, if at least one of the spouses is registered in Lüliang.
The measure is aimed at combating falling marriage rates and a declining birth rate, which fell from 13.61 to 6.6 children per 1,000 people between 2005 and 2023. Similar programs have already been introduced in at least two other Chinese cities.