Chinese brides in demand

TheSun 15Nov2005 Chinese brides in demand MALAYSIAN Chinese men like to take Chinese nationals as their brides mainly because of similarities in their language and culture, the Chinese press reported yesterday. Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said statistics showed that more than 6,000 Chinese women have married Malaysians. Of all foreign women, Chinese nationals are the top choice of Malaysian Chinese men as they share the same language and culture, mak ing it easy for them to communicate and foster mutual understanding. He said in jest that Malaysian women should not set too many conditions for their prospective Mr Right as "there is a trend that local men are going for China brides". After marrying, these Chinese nationals have settled down in Malaysia, Tan said after officiating at a Chinese primary school storytelling competition organised by the Federation of Kwong Tung Association of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. However, he said the government has not relaxed its immigration rules to allow these Chinese nationals to apply for permanent resident status. As such, they have to renew their social visit pass every year. Asked about the allegation by a Chinese national, who is married to a Malaysian, that she was manhandled by the police recently, Tan said the incident, although an isolated case, may affect the tourism industry. He also said some Chinese tourists who are not happy with the treatment they get in Malaysia would spread negative stories on the internet when they returned home. For example, some young Chinese women may encounter problems with the immigration because of the language barrier, and are refused entry. Foreign women who arrive with too little money would raise the sus picions of immigration officers, and the problem is compounded by the language barrier. If these women can produce their credit cards or give contacts of their relatives and friends in Malaysia to show they are here for visits, they would be cleared for entry. Tan believed that such incidents would be reduced when the first batch of 20 Mandarin-speaking airport officers are stationed at KL International Airport next month.