Getting married in China, article

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Pashley

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Getting married in China, article
« on: January 31, 2013, 04:46:13 PM »
There has been an article about "Marriage in China" on the online travel guide Wikivoyage (http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Main_Page) for some time. Currently, people there are discussing deleting it because it is out of scope for them. It will likely go soon.

Fair enough, but I thought some of the information might be worth preserving here. Here is the text:

Travellers in China may decide to marry a local. Quite a few foreign men marry Chinese women and some foreign women marry Chinese men.

Marriage customs, like almost everything else in China, are changing. In traditional Chinese society, marriages were arranged by families and matchmakers. Later, in early Communist China, marriages were arranged mainly by Party officials and one could not marry without permission from one's workgroup (roughly the Chinese equivalent of a Soviet). Today there is considerable movement toward free choice, and considerable movement toward women's rights. However, there are still matchmakers and both family and Party may still have considerable influence, at least in some cases.

As anywhere, some caution is necessary for anyone contemplating marriage. A particular risk in China is the "visa hound", the woman who pursues a man mainly because he has the right passport; if she marries him, she gets a visa.
That said, most people are just looking for Mr. or Ms. Right, and many people do form happy cross-cultural pairs.

==Procedure in general==
Getting married in China can be time consuming and expensive. There are numerous bureaucratic hurdles to leap before a marriage certificate will be granted. The obstacles may seem daunting, but if you follow the rules and have a little patience you and your partner will be able to tie the knot in China with minimum hassle.
         
While the process of getting your paperwork together can differ from nationality to nationality, there are two important documents any foreigner will need to get in order to get married in China: a '''certificate of marriageability''' and a '''certificate of marriage.''' (Important: some countries issue one certificate for the two people who want to get married, the chinese officials want one piece of paper for each of them). Conceivably, both of these certificates could be obtained in a day or two, but in practice it often takes much longer and  often requires some travel; see below for details. If getting married in mainland China is too time consuming and cumbersome for you then consider the option of getting married in Hong Kong or Macau; see below for more on that as well.

Note that the Chinese government regulates the age at which Chinese can get married. In general, women can’t marry until they're twenty and men must wait until they are twenty-two. Despite this, there are persistent reports of girls in their early teens being married off by their families in some rural areas. Until a few years ago, universities would expel undergraduates who got married, but this policy has changed. Two foreigners are allowed to marry in China, but the paperwork may be overwhelming and the Hong Kong option might be more suitable.

'''Same sex marriages''' are forbidden in China.

== Certificate of Marriageability==   

The first thing that any foreigner needs to wed a Chinese national in China is a '''certificate of marriageability.''' The certificate is proof that the applicant is not currently married, a fact reflected in the Chinese '''danshenzhengming''' (单身证明), which literally means “single certificate.” A certificate of marriageability is obtained from '''your''' government, usually from an embassy or consulate, and then presented to the Chinese government upon application for a marriage certificate. One thing to bear in mind when getting a certificate of marriageability is that you must present a copy '''translated into Chinese''' to the Chinese government when applying for your marriage certificate. Some countries, such as the [[United States]], provide a bilingual English/Chinese certificate, but if your embassy/consulate does not then you must obtain a notarized translation from a Chinese government office.    
   
In general, if you are applying for a certificate of marriageability in China it is important to remember to bring the following items when applying at your embassy/consulate:    
 
* your '''passport'''.   
* '''notarized proof''' that any previous marriage has been terminated. Put more simply, you must obtain from the local or national government in your home country '''officially notarized copies''' of official documents stating that you are divorced. It is not uncommon for foreigners in China to have to fly back home to get their divorce paperwork sorted out!!! To save yourself this hassle make sure that you have the correct paperwork before you come to China, or have it sent to you in China.    
* your partner’s '''national ID card''', or '''shenfenzheng''' (身份证).    
* your partner’s '''hùkǒu''' (户口), or '''residency permit''', which every Chinese citizen has. It may come as a shock to many foreigners that officially Chinese need permission from the government to relocate within China. An individual’s hukou is proof that they have permission from the government to live in a certain area of the country. Millions of Chinese migrate from their home districts to others areas of the country, but their hukous remain in their home district in the possession of family, the local police, the last school attended or the last place of employment. This is a problem because the hukou must be presented to the embassy or consulate in order to receive a certificate of marriageability. Therefore, if you're applying for a certificate of marriageability outside of your Chinese partners home district, then their hukou must be sent to your current location, which will take at least a couple of days.    
* your partner does not need to present their passport, but if available it may help to bring it to speed up the process.

==Marriage Certificate==
After a certificate of marriageability has been obtained you must go to the city or town that your Chinese partner’s hukou is registered at, and apply for a '''marriage certificate''' (结婚证 jiehunzheng. If this is outside of the city of the embassy/consulate that issued your certificate of marriageability then this means you will have to do some traveling. In your partner’s hometown you must go to the local government office that registers marriages, which in a small town would be the '''minzhengju''' (民政局) and in a larger city the '''minzhengting''' (民政厅). In the past both partners had to undertake a medical examination before a certificate of marriage was issued, but this is no longer necessary in most areas. Remember that, typically, marriage registration offices are only open Monday to Friday during certain hours, and are closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays. At the marriage registration office you and your partner will be asked to present the certificate of marriageability and three formal photos of the two of you together, to answer a few simple questions and required to fill out some forms. The final act is for each partner to read a form and swear under oath. One marriage certificate will then be issued to each partner in the form of a red booklet with the couple’s picture inside. The entire process should only take about an hour and the cost is quite cheap, only a few dozen renminbi or less. It is customary to wear informal dress when applying; even jeans and a t-shirt will do. Don’t worry, your new Chinese husband or wife will certainly insist on having an expensive and elaborate wedding on a later date.

==Getting Married for Foreigners==
   
Two foreigners can get married in China if both of them meet the marriage requirements in China (see above at [[Certificate of Marriageability]] and at least one of them has a Chinese residence permit. 
The marriage is to be documented in Marriage Registration Office, Bureau of Civil Affairs.  There is no preliminary sign up for the registration, the registration itself takes about 30 minutes.  This includes filling out the application (in Chinese; the assistance from a Chinese speaker will be required, the officials at the Marriage Registration Office not necessarily speak English); entering by the official your data into the database; and printing out two [[Marriage Certificates]].
The list of the documents includes:
- a valid passport with the valid Chinese visa.  China doesn't issue a "fiancée" visa; the marriage can be executed with a "tourist" ("L") visa;
- a Chinese residence permit for at least one of the marrying parties;
- a certificate of marriageability obtained at the parties' Embassy/-ies.  The certificate must be issued in Chinese or to be translated and notirized at one of the Municipal Public Notary Offices. (Important: each of the persons need one certificate, where it clearly says: not married, single, is allowed to marry)
- three photos of the marrying couple taken together.  There is special format for such photos, the Chinese photo shops should know that;
- a registration fee (¥9 as of June 2010).

Some countries require additional steps to be taken to allow using the Chinese [[Marriage Certificate]] on its territory. 
For example, [[Russia]] requires


1) translation and notarization of Chinese Marriage Certificate at the authorized Government Notary Office;

. Beijing Fangyuan Notary Public Office
they notify the documents and translate it into english or german
take:
weddingpasses
900yuan
1 week

adress:
Beijing Fangyuan Notary Public Office
BeijingInn, Chaowai Dajie 206, Jixiangli
www.bnpo.gov.cn
subwaystation: Chaoyangmen

新址:
北京市方圆公证处
北京市东城区东水井胡同5号北京INN大厦1
www.bnpo.gov.cn
地铁站: 朝阳门


2) verification of the translated and notarized copy at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

. CTS, China Travel service
this agency sends the documents to the foreign ministry for certification
(you can also tell them also to send them to you embassy for further certification = next + last step, +1000yuan)

take:
certified wedding documents
1000 yuan
3 days

adress:
China Travel service
Dong Jiao Min Xiang 8
subwaystation: Chongwenmen

中国旅行社总社
北京市东郊民巷8号
地铁站: 崇文门


3) legalization by a Russian diplomat at the embassy of the translated, notirized and verified copy.

==Getting Married in Beijing==

[[Beijing]] is convenient due to compact location of the embassies and Chinese governmental offices that will be involved into the paperwork. The marriage for two foreigners is to be registered at Marriage Registration Office, Bureau of Civil Affairs of Beijing Municipality, 1st FL., No. 8 Huayanli, Chaoyang District Beijing 100029, Telephone: 6202-8454, 6203 5724. Translation of affidavit can be done at one of those translating companies called 双雄对外服务公司 (Shuang Xiong Dui Wai Fu Wu Gong si)and located at 安定门东大街3号 (An Ding Men Dong Da Jie #3), 在公安局外国人出入境管理处东侧 100米 (located about 100 m east of Administration of Exit and Entry of Beijing Public Security Bureau ) with operation hours: 8:30-11:30; 13:00-17:00.

==Getting Married in Hong Kong or Macau==
   
The [[Hong Kong]] option for marriage is most suited for two foreigners, especially those who don’t have all their divorce papers on hand. The process is more expensive than in mainland China, but is quicker and easier, with most couples getting married on the spot. For those wishing to marry a Chinese mainlander the Hong Kong option will probably not be any more convenient and will almost certainly be more expensive.

[[Macau]] might be a nice place to get married. There are a lot of beautiful old buildings for the photographs, and some utterly stunning Catholic churches if you want that sort of wedding.
Keep in mind you must have a Macau Blue Card inorder to get married in Macau. If you are just a student in Macau you wont be able to process wedding papers in Macau.

==Taking the Chinese partner home==
Getting married does not automatically get the Chinese partner a visa for the foreign partner's home country. Bogus marriages for visa purposes are common enough that the embassy or consulate may be somewhat suspicious or may give you a bit of a hard time.

* you may need to bring '''photos''' of you and your partner together.   
* for some nationalities, such as Americans, it may also be necessary for your foreign spouse or fiancee to appear in person and be '''interviewed''' by embassy/consulate officials. During the interview your partner must show '''proof of a relationship''', which usually means presenting several photos of you and your partner together on separate occasions, correspondence between both of you, and any other documents evidencing a stable relationship. Your partner should be able to answer basic questions about you, including if you have any children from prior marriages.
Who put a stop payment on my reality check?

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CaseyOrourke

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2013, 02:08:13 AM »
In my case, I had two previous divorces, one in California and the other in Oregon, both of which are under the area of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. However, at the time I was getting things ready to marry Mrs. Casey, I was living in Texas, which is under the consulate in Houston. The Houston consulate could not certify documents from CA or OR and the consulate in San Fran would not accept anything from me because I lived in Texas. 

I called the Houston Consulate for some guidance.  A nice lady there asked me if I ever was married or divorced in the State of Texas, I told her no.  She told me to make out an affidavit to that fact, get it notarized and Apostilled by the Texas Secretary of State and send it to them.  They sent me back the original notarized affidavit, letter from the TX Sec of State and some documents in Chinese.

When we got married at the Foreign Marriage Bureau in Changchung, Mrs. Casey gave them my documents along with hers.  Mine were translated there and I had to swear my affidavit was factual (I was tempted to say, "As far as Texas is concerned," but resisted), which I did.  we filed our fee, got our pictures and a couple of days later, got our red books.   

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2013, 05:11:43 AM »
I am a bit confused about this part

Quote
In general, if you are applying for a certificate of marriageability in China it is important to remember to bring the following items when applying at your embassy/consulate:   
 
* your '''passport'''.   
* '''notarized proof''' that any previous marriage has been terminated. Put more simply, you must obtain from the local or national government in your home country '''officially notarized copies''' of official documents stating that you are divorced. It is not uncommon for foreigners in China to have to fly back home to get their divorce paperwork sorted out!!! To save yourself this hassle make sure that you have the correct paperwork before you come to China, or have it sent to you in China.   
* your partner’s '''national ID card''', or '''shenfenzheng''' (身份证).   
* your partner’s '''hùkǒu''' (户口), or '''residency permit''', which every Chinese citizen has. It may come as a shock to many foreigners that officially Chinese need permission from the government to relocate within China. An individual’s hukou is proof that they have permission from the government to live in a certain area of the country. Millions of Chinese migrate from their home districts to others areas of the country, but their hukous remain in their home district in the possession of family, the local police, the last school attended or the last place of employment. This is a problem because the hukou must be presented to the embassy or consulate in order to receive a certificate of marriageability. Therefore, if you're applying for a certificate of marriageability outside of your Chinese partners home district, then their hukou must be sent to your current location, which will take at least a couple of days.   
* your partner does not need to present their passport, but if available it may help to bring it to speed up the process.

When I got married I did not have to bring anything of my partner's to get my certificate of marriageability. I only had to sign an affidavit saying that I was unmarried and had never been married. The US Embassy website confirms this. My partner did not even come with when I got the certificate of marriageability, and the whole process took less than half an hour at the embassy in Chengdu. I flew out from Kunming in the morning and flew back by the early evening. It was extremely extremely easy.

Other countries might have different rules but for Americans who have never been married before, the certificate of marriageability was one of the easiest parts of the whole thing.

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Monkey King

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2013, 05:55:23 AM »
Sorry , off topic...

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Stil

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2013, 05:32:54 PM »

When I got married I did not have to bring anything of my partner's to get my certificate of marriageability. I only had to sign an affidavit saying that I was unmarried and had never been married. The US Embassy website confirms this. My partner did not even come with when I got the certificate of marriageability, and the whole process took less than half an hour at the embassy in Chengdu. I flew out from Kunming in the morning and flew back by the early evening. It was extremely extremely easy.

Other countries might have different rules but for Americans who have never been married before, the certificate of marriageability was one of the easiest parts of the whole thing.
 

Last year Canadians needed the partner's ID card to show at the embassy in Guangzhou.

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2013, 02:31:39 AM »
The prevalence of domestic violence is grim.

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2013, 02:34:41 AM »
Yeah but that's not what this discussion is about. mmmmmmmmmm

We can start a new topic on domestic violence, it is certainly something worth discussing, but this thread is about what paperwork a couple needs in order to get married in China.

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CaseyOrourke

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2013, 07:06:10 PM »

When I got married I did not have to bring anything of my partner's to get my certificate of marriageability. I only had to sign an affidavit saying that I was unmarried and had never been married. The US Embassy website confirms this. My partner did not even come with when I got the certificate of marriageability, and the whole process took less than half an hour at the embassy in Chengdu. I flew out from Kunming in the morning and flew back by the early evening. It was extremely extremely easy.

Other countries might have different rules but for Americans who have never been married before, the certificate of marriageability was one of the easiest parts of the whole thing.
 

Last year Canadians needed the partner's ID card to show at the embassy in Guangzhou.

We were married in 2004, back then everybody had these green books with pictures as ID's

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2013, 07:31:26 PM »

When I got married I did not have to bring anything of my partner's to get my certificate of marriageability. I only had to sign an affidavit saying that I was unmarried and had never been married. The US Embassy website confirms this. My partner did not even come with when I got the certificate of marriageability, and the whole process took less than half an hour at the embassy in Chengdu. I flew out from Kunming in the morning and flew back by the early evening. It was extremely extremely easy.

Other countries might have different rules but for Americans who have never been married before, the certificate of marriageability was one of the easiest parts of the whole thing.
 

Last year Canadians needed the partner's ID card to show at the embassy in Guangzhou.

We were married in 2004, back then everybody had these green books with pictures as ID's

In Texas?

When you got your certificate of marriageability (from your own government -- this is not something issued by the Chinese -- for you it would have been the notarized document you got from the Secretary of State ) in Texas, did you have have to show your wife's hukou or ID card? To the Texas government?

The process does differ a bit depending on what country you live in when you're getting married. Since I lived in China when I was marrying my husband, I just had to show up at the US Consulate in Chengdu with my passport, sign a affidavit saying I was single, and they gave me the (conveniently bilingual) certificate then and there. I didn't show any of my (then future) husband's documents.

I know this is kind of a nitpicky point and it doesn't really matter, but I'm kind of curious. It never even occurred to me that I might need to show who my future husband would be before the government would give me a certificate of marriageability -- which is really just a document stating that a person is single and won't be committing bigamy if they get married.

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xwarrior

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2013, 12:12:28 AM »
I guess that the only consistent 'China Rule' (depends on the time and place and how an official is feeling on the day) applies to the marriage situation in China.

LD, after checking out the US Consulate (Chengdu) regs I think it could have cost you a lot more money, and involved a lot more hassle, if your groom-to-be was one of your students.  xxxxxxxxxx   

http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/marriage_in_china2.html

Looks like the US authorities now require a bit more than your word:

Please bring your fiancee's Chinese ID (shenfen zheng) with you when you apply for this certificate. Please be aware that both the American citizen and his/her Chinese financee may be required to appear in person at the Consulate for the above said marriageability certificate.

(If anyone thinks the 'barter' system for brides restricts bargaining to the parents of the bride then this reference throws up a couple of other possibilities to watch out for.)   
I have my standards. They may be low, but I have them.
- Bette Midler

Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2013, 12:38:55 AM »
I guess that the only consistent 'China Rule' (depends on the time and place and how an official is feeling on the day) applies to the marriage situation in China.

LD, after checking out the US Consulate (Chengdu) regs I think it could have cost you a lot more money, and involved a lot more hassle, if your groom-to-be was one of your students.  xxxxxxxxxx   

http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/marriage_in_china2.html

Looks like the US authorities now require a bit more than your word:

Please bring your fiancee's Chinese ID (shenfen zheng) with you when you apply for this certificate. Please be aware that both the American citizen and his/her Chinese financee may be required to appear in person at the Consulate for the above said marriageability certificate.

(If anyone thinks the 'barter' system for brides restricts bargaining to the parents of the bride then this reference throws up a couple of other possibilities to watch out for.)   

Luckily my husband is not, and never has been, one of my students! Seeing as how I teach high school that would be ... just, um, no.

Yeah, we were married 6 years ago, and times for sure can change. I definitely didn't have him in person with me when I went to Chengdu for the cert. and I never showed his ID, although I might have brought a copy of it with me. I remember it was so easy and simple that I went ahead and applied for extra pages for my passport at the same time, and both were literally ready  within 30 minutes.

The US Embassy is definitely a "at the discretion of the person you talk to" sort of place though, so it could be that they just never asked. When I applied for a passport for my son, I remember they wrote on the website that you were supposed to provide proof that you'd actually lived in the USA for a certain amount of years past the age of 14 or so. I went nuts looking for proof, old pay-stubs, bills, whatever I could get my folks to send me, took it all to the embassy, and in the end they never even asked to see any of it. I guess they prefer that you over-prepare than under-prepare, but in the end they're not going to create more work for themselves when they don't have to. 

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CaseyOrourke

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2013, 04:54:24 PM »

When I got married I did not have to bring anything of my partner's to get my certificate of marriageability. I only had to sign an affidavit saying that I was unmarried and had never been married. The US Embassy website confirms this. My partner did not even come with when I got the certificate of marriageability, and the whole process took less than half an hour at the embassy in Chengdu. I flew out from Kunming in the morning and flew back by the early evening. It was extremely extremely easy.

Other countries might have different rules but for Americans who have never been married before, the certificate of marriageability was one of the easiest parts of the whole thing.
 

Last year Canadians needed the partner's ID card to show at the embassy in Guangzhou.

We were married in 2004, back then everybody had these green books with pictures as ID's

In Texas?

When you got your certificate of marriageability (from your own government -- this is not something issued by the Chinese -- for you it would have been the notarized document you got from the Secretary of State ) in Texas, did you have have to show your wife's hukou or ID card? To the Texas government?

The process does differ a bit depending on what country you live in when you're getting married. Since I lived in China when I was marrying my husband, I just had to show up at the US Consulate in Chengdu with my passport, sign a affidavit saying I was single, and they gave me the (conveniently bilingual) certificate then and there. I didn't show any of my (then future) husband's documents.

I know this is kind of a nitpicky point and it doesn't really matter, but I'm kind of curious. It never even occurred to me that I might need to show who my future husband would be before the government would give me a certificate of marriageability -- which is really just a document stating that a person is single and won't be committing bigamy if they get married.

All I did was print out statement that I was living in the state of Texas, I was gainfully employed by the Veteran's Administration, I was currently single and legally allowed to be married.  I got it notarized by a notary at my local bank and sent it into the Texas' Secretary of States office for an Apostille certifying the notary.  I didn't need to show Texas anything. 
Once I had the paperwork back from the Sec's office I sent it to the consulate to be verified and authorized for use in China. 
Once I was in China, my soon to be wife handled all the paperwork, I was just there to say yes and I do.

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CaseyOrourke

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2013, 05:00:11 PM »
I guess that the only consistent 'China Rule' (depends on the time and place and how an official is feeling on the day) applies to the marriage situation in China.

LD, after checking out the US Consulate (Chengdu) regs I think it could have cost you a lot more money, and involved a lot more hassle, if your groom-to-be was one of your students.  xxxxxxxxxx   

http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/marriage_in_china2.html

Looks like the US authorities now require a bit more than your word:

Please bring your fiancee's Chinese ID (shenfen zheng) with you when you apply for this certificate. Please be aware that both the American citizen and his/her Chinese financee may be required to appear in person at the Consulate for the above said marriageability certificate.

(If anyone thinks the 'barter' system for brides restricts bargaining to the parents of the bride then this reference throws up a couple of other possibilities to watch out for.)   

Luckily my husband is not, and never has been, one of my students! Seeing as how I teach high school that would be ... just, um, no.

Yeah, we were married 6 years ago, and times for sure can change. I definitely didn't have him in person with me when I went to Chengdu for the cert. and I never showed his ID, although I might have brought a copy of it with me. I remember it was so easy and simple that I went ahead and applied for extra pages for my passport at the same time, and both were literally ready  within 30 minutes.

The US Embassy is definitely a "at the discretion of the person you talk to" sort of place though, so it could be that they just never asked. When I applied for a passport for my son, I remember they wrote on the website that you were supposed to provide proof that you'd actually lived in the USA for a certain amount of years past the age of 14 or so. I went nuts looking for proof, old pay-stubs, bills, whatever I could get my folks to send me, took it all to the embassy, and in the end they never even asked to see any of it. I guess they prefer that you over-prepare than under-prepare, but in the end they're not going to create more work for themselves when they don't have to. 

Not to change the subject, but since we now have a baby daughter, We will have to go to the consulate and get her a passport.  I'm hoping the SF-50 showing I was a government employee at a VA hospital will be enough to show I was living in the US.

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gonzo

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2013, 07:47:32 PM »
Marital advice from a very wise co-founder of this forum, which he freely gave to young men went like this:
Cut to the chase. Find a woman you hate and buy her a house.
'Nuff said.
RIP Phil Stephens.
No static at all.

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Pashley

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Re: Getting married in China, article
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2013, 02:41:19 AM »
That is actually a well-known quote from Rod Stewart:
Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house.

Fist one on this page:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/rod_stewart.html
Who put a stop payment on my reality check?