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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Chinese urbanites accept 'dink' values

China's younger generation are rapidly replacing traditional family values with independent and carefree life styles by delaying parenthood.


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China's younger generation are rapidly replacing traditional family values with independent and carefree life styles by delaying parenthood.

Some 60 percent of urban dwellers in the northern municipality Tianjin look favorably on "dink" -- double income, no kids -- couples, according to a recent survey by the municipal women's federation.

This is contrary to the traditional Chinese belief that newlyweds should have a child as soon as possible to carry on the family name and to have someone to take care of them after retirement.

About 64 percent of the respondents said it was "understandable" and "acceptable" not to have a child, though most were not dinks themselves.

The respondents were all over 18 and were randomly selected from 600 urban families in Tianjin.

Other reports said dink families made up 12.4 percent of urban families in the eastern commercial hub of Shanghai and 10 percent in the nation's capital Beijing.

Sociologists say the trend mirrors changes in the Chinese values system.

Traditionally, the most frequently-heard blessing to the newlywed was "may you have a child soon", and child-bearing ability was all-important for a good wife.

With the country's modernization drive, however, more couples have come to value career development and the quality of family life. A child would be an intruder in their carefree lifestyle andas parents, they would have to compromise at work, said some couples surveyed.

Most correspondents were confident that the social security system would ensure their well-being when they grew old. "Gone arethe days when you had to rely on your own kids for financial support and attendance," said a respondent who chose not to have achild.

"Behind the growing number of dinks are an increasing number oflifestyle options for most Chinese people," said Li Yinhe, who began her research on dinks more than 10 years ago.

"They are mostly hedonists who value individuality and the quality of married life more than parenthood," said Li in one of her works.

The survey also found 93.5 percent of urbanites surveyed did not favor boys over girls, which ran counter to centuries-old prejudice that only a son could hand down the ancestral name.

Source: Xinhua


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