Afp, Taipei
An overwhelming 82 percent of Taiwanese people who are in relationships do not plan to get married this year, mainly because of lack of money and the economic downturn, a poll showed yesterday.
Nearly half of respondents reluctant to tie the knot cited financial woes while 31.77 percent of them said their relationships were unsteady and 23.1 percent wanted to focus on work first, the poll by online job bank 1111 found.
“Money is the biggest challenge when it comes to marriage in the recession… The traditional concept of starting a family before building the career has been reversed,” the survey said.
In addition, 37.19 percent of the 1,489 people surveyed between late January and early February said they would not celebrate Valentine’s Day this year because of the economic crisis.
Of those who did have celebration plans, 48 percent said they would economise this year while 71 percent intended to spend no more than 2,000 Taiwan dollars (59 US) on gifts and meals.
Taiwan has been hit hard by the global downturn, with jobless rates reaching an all-time high as export figures suffered a record plunge in recent months.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
