A group composed of young Chinese are setting up a pro-singlehood campaign in one of Beijing's busiest subway stations as a challenge against the traditional views on marriage, according to a report by the Global Times. The campaign still start on Thursday, a few days short from the Spring Festival holiday.
"Parents are likely to bombard children with their 'you must marry' preaching during the Spring Festival, so we chose February to display our advertisement," said 24-year-old Li Cheng (not his real name), the founder of the group.
Li founded the group by starting a crowdfunding platform in January. The goal? To raise 35,000 yuan ($5,384) to put up the campaign.
The group wasn't successful, however, as the platform was only able to raise 12,000 yuan as of Wednesday, Feb. 3. Despite the crowdfunding failure, the advertisement will still be set up just as planned.
The campaign advertisement will be posted inside Dongzhimen metro station until early March of this year.
It's deeply embedded in ancient Chinese tradition to be filial and obedient to one's set of parents. A successful marriage, with offspring, is considered a responsibility.
This belief has caused a lot of pressure on China's young population.
"We want the public to know that being single is not shameful, but a personal choice," said Li in an interview with the Global Times.
In a survey done by Ming Pao, a Chinese-language newspaper, more than 70 percent of Chinese respondents under 40 years of age have been pressured by their parents to marry. People aged 25 to 35 have it much worse, as 86 percent experience such pressure from their families.
Compared to Westerners, Chinese people aim their primary focus on family relationships. It's not uncommon for family elders to interfere with the private lives of younger members.
It's understandable for parents to want to see their children get married, but a forced marriage can lead to unhappy partnerships, said Hu Rui, a Beijing-based lawyer.
In 2014 alone, the divorce rate among couples reached 3.64 million.
Xiong Jing, a feminist and managing director of the Media Monitor for Women Network, suggests that Chinese youth should speak up and let their voices be heard.