Cupid Links the Global Factory with the Global Marriage Market
Michael DiGregorio
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 6:13 AM
To: Vietnam Studies Group
Subject: Mr. Cupid links the global factory with the global marriage
market
Dear All,
Here is an article that appeared in the Straits Times recently. I am only surprised that no-one has ever thought of linking the global factory, and its reliance on young female labor, with the global marriage market. One wonders how a factory could operate, however, if it sells off its labor force. But perhaps that is the point: it can earn more than enough for the sale of its labor force to recruit and train new labor.
From gclchew@yahoo.co.uk Tue Feb 1 04:46:35 2005
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 12:44:48 +0000 (GMT)
From: Grace Chew <gclchew@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: (1) Mr Cupid; (2) Librarians' help needed
Hi,
(1) If create your own ID to register and log on within this week to:
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,5562,298420-1107122340,00.html? you will be able to see a picture of the girls in the "house of virgins" accompanying the article.
Their kind of job is labor- and not skill-intensive (as you can seee on the web) and so training is minimal; daily wage is 50,000 dong, less than 5 USD but what a client pays here approximates USD 14,000.
(2) I need the efficient librarians' help again-sorry ~ I don't seem to be able to find the publication place for ZHONGHUA SHIBAO, another Mandarin paper for news on Vietnam. It's either Budapest or Canada, according to my search but I am wondering if the US has one with the same title.
Thank you in advance,
From h-nguyen@northwestern.edu Tue Feb 1 06:48:39 2005
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 8:47:11 -0600
From: Thanh Nguyen <h-nguyen@northwestern.edu>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Mr. Cupid links the global factory with the global marriage market
i was thinking the same thing- yet as they only marry off about 300 women, there are still more than 3,000 women working at the factory and i'm sure the continue to recruit new workers everyyear. This was particularly disturbing to me at first, yet after much consideration it seems $5 a day amounts to about $150 USD a month which is twice the salary of an average factory worker, i guess the idea and the commodification of women is more disturbing than the actual conditions
they live in. Does anyone know whether or not the Vietnamese owner is in fact ethnic Chinese and if not, how does he do business with foreign grooms, does he have translators and other marriage brokers he works through?
-thanh
Thanh Nguyen
h-nguyen@northwestern.edu
Northwestern University
1861 North Sheridan
Evanston, IL 60201
or
3008 W. Jarvis
Chicago, IL 60645
312-451-7331
From gclchew@yahoo.co.uk Tue Feb 1 07:03:19 2005
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 15:01:56 +0000 (GMT)
From: Grace Chew <gclchew@yahoo.co.uk>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Mr Cupid
It's not difficult to find Mandarin-speakers in VN. I have met Vietnamese businessmen in Saigon who speak fluent Mandarin. There is no mention of the ethnicity of the broker.
=====
Grace
From hhtai@fas.harvard.edu Tue Feb 1 07:09:27 2005
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 10:07:13 -0500
From: Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Mr Cupid
In the North, there are quite a few people who studied in the PRC and thus speak Mandarin.
Hue-Tam
From tran@ssrc.org Tue Feb 1 07:46:40 2005
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 10:45:24 -0500
From: tran <tran@ssrc.org>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: RE: Mr. Cupid links the global factory with the global marriage market
I have heard that there is a draft directive of the Prime Minister in the works to improve State management over marriage and family relations involving foreigners by requiring young couples to know at least one common language and not allowing marriages where the courtship period is too short. It is reported that the provincial/municipal Justice Services will interview people who want to get marry to make sure the above conditions are met.
Does anyone have more information on the draft or know whether it has been passed?
Van
******************************************
Ms. Van Bich Thi Tran
Assistant Director, Vietnam Program
Social Science Research Council
810 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019 USA
Tel: (212) 377-2700 ext. 424
Fax: (212) 377-2727
E-mail: tran@ssrc.org
Web: www.ssrc.org
_______________________________________________________________________
From h-nguyen@northwestern.edu Tue Feb 1 08:48:17 2005
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 10:45:49 -0600
From: Thanh Nguyen <h-nguyen@northwestern.edu>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Mr. Cupid links the global factory with the global marriage market
i'm not sure if this answers your question but i do know that all couples have to go through So Tu Phap first where they are interviewed (in teh case of taiwanese-vietnamese marriages they then have to be interviewed by the taiwanese embassy as well) and there is some stipulations on marriages with foreigners detailed in Government Degree No. 68/2002/ND-CP
:
NEW DECREE ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY WITH FOREIGN ELEMENT
Ha Noi, July 16 (VNA)-- Viet Nam's Government on July 10 issued a legal document, decreeing detailed rules on enforcing the foreign-related provisions of the Marriage and Family Law.
The 8-chapter, 81-article decree (code named 68/2002/ND-CP) makes it clear that in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the legitimate rights of relevant parties in marriage relations, and in relations between parents and children, and between adoptive parents and adopted children with involvement of foreigners are based on and recognised by provisions of the Marriage and Family Law, and this decree. Those rights are fully respected and protected in line with both Viet Nam's law and international rules that the country has ratified or joined in, says the new legal document.
The decree also strictly bans any abuse of marriage, or adoption of parents or children for commercial purposes such as sexual trade and abuse against women and girls, and labour exploitation. Brokerage for those purposes are also prohibited by the new document.
Decree 68/2002/ND-CP will come into force from January 2, 2003 and replace Decree 184/CP issued on Nov. 30, 1994 on the procedures of marriage, recognition of out-of-wedlock children, child adoption, and sponsorship between Vietnamese and foreigners.--Enditem
best, thanh