How do Chinese men view the importance of marriage certificates?
Marriage is typically understood as a promise to be solely commited to the person you are married to. Sure, there are those who have “open marriages” and those who don’t really care if they are married or not and often act as if they are not. Most “marriages of convenience” fail for one reason or another. If the “fake” marriage is for immigration purposes, it’s unlikely that they won’t be found out. The INS has seen it all . . . they know when they are being cheated. In other words, the entire “marriage” is a cheating situation . . . the purpose of the marriage isn’t marriage in itself, but for some ulterior motive. As far as men in China are concerned regarding marriage . . . it’s hard to stereotype, but if the girl told her boyfriend in China that she was getting married to an American and that this will help them (the Chinese couple) in the future, then he most likely won’t regard her as married.
