How China’s young people hire partners to avoid Spring Festival awkwardness

How China’s young people hire partners to avoid Spring Festival awkwardness
For many young Chinese, the Spring Festival is not only a time for reuniting with family members, but also a period of much consternation, given that they are more than likely to face questions about their love life.
Offering a solution to this conundrum are companies that allow people to rent a partner to take home. While often there have been questions raised about the legality of this business, a new report by the Yangcheng Evening News has shed light on the details of this trade.
According to Ms. Liu, who works at one such company in Guangzhou, clients have to abide by a strict code of conduct and must sign a detailed contract stipulating it.
For instance, clients can only hug their rented partners; that’s the most physical contact that is contractually permitted. Moreover, when someone hires a girlfriend, the company needs to make sure that she does not drink too much during the family dinner, particularly given that Spring Festival feasts often involve consuming a copious amount of alcohol.
Another interesting aspect of the contract is over the festival gifts that family members of the clients are likely to give to a hired partner. In these cases, it is up to the client to decide if their partner can pocket the cash or not.
According to the report, if a client consents to these and other stipulations, then he/she will need to sign a contract and submit photo identification and their ID card numbers along with other details.
The agency also reportedly offers a crash course in how the duo can appear to be a couple, taking them through routine and perhaps unexpected questions that are likely to pop up at home.
So, what does all this cost? Well, according to Ms. Liu, a 5-day agreement could cost as much as 10,700 yuan (approx. 1629 US dollars).
While all this sounds well and good, it remains unclear if such a contract has any legal validity. For instance, Xiao Jinyang, a lawyer from the Guangdong Hebang Law Firm, has warned that while an employment contract for a companion or for someone to escort you to a meal or a movie can be legal, if the companion is taken home or introduced as a partner to relatives and family members, then it is no longer an employee-employer relationship and the contract will become invalid and is not protected by law.

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