Betrothal gift demand, response generates discussion online

A letter to the Zhenyuan county government in Gansu province from a college student complaining about an unreasonable betrothal gift has caused a stir online.

The student, surnamed Liu, met his girlfriend in college. After a year, they decided to meet each other's parents, who told him the minimum betrothal gift was 288,000 yuan ($39,760) with car and house not included. This was much higher than what he could afford, Liu said in the letter, adding he hopes the county government would take action to curb the unreasonable expectations.

As the missive is open to the public according to the law, it got a lot of attention on Weibo, a Twitter-like social platform.

Some people thought the letter was uncalled for. A Weibo user named Hua Luo Xiang Si commented: "Different places have different customs, is it really necessary to complain to the government?"

Another said bluntly: "If you can't afford it, maybe you shouldn't marry her."

Others thought the letter was necessary for the government to act.

A netizen named Ao Jiao Dou Fu said: "A reasonable betrothal gift is acceptable, but this was too much. This needs to be stopped."

Four days later on June 19, the local publicity department replies to the letter, saying their investigation indicated betrothal gifts in Zhenyuan saw a gradual decline in recent years.

As for the problem mentioned in the letter, the local government will take more measures to address the issue. It issued a proposal last year calling for the public to boycott high-priced dowries, saying people should not take money as a measure of happiness or let the dowry ruin a good marriage, according to Nanfang Daily, a news outlet based in Guangzhou.

An official with the local publicity department said to Nanfang Daily on Tuesday the local dowry is not high and they will continue to look into the matter.