On October 23rd, during a news conference in Beijing, Zhu Yujun, the Deputy Director-General of the Social Affairs Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, announced that by the end of September 2024, the nationwide implementation of “inter-provincial marriage registration” has facilitated 416,000 couples in registering their marriages.
At the event, which was part of the “Five Years of Civil Affairs” series, Zhu emphasized that the Ministry is steadily advancing the inter-provincial marriage registration process for residents in mainland China. This initiative has been rolled out in two phases, with 21 provinces now offering the service, representing 78.5% of the country’s total population.
Furthermore, the Ministry has issued guidelines for piloting marriage customs reform, identifying 32 experimental zones across the nation. Zhu noted that there are currently 1,806 pilot units at various levels, where grassroots self-governing organizations have been encouraged to play a vital role. These units aim to establish clear standards regarding dowries and gifts, promoting public awareness against high-priced dowries and other outdated customs, making “low dowry” and “zero dowry” increasingly common.
During the conference, Xu Yun, the Deputy Director-General of the Social Assistance Department, also addressed the need to enhance mechanisms for preventing poverty among rural populations. He stated that the Ministry is committed to refining and updating a layered and categorized social assistance system. With a focus on “ensuring basic needs, mitigating risks, and fostering development,” the Ministry aims to speed up the establishment of a support system tailored for low-income rural populations, striving for an integrated approach to urban and rural assistance.
