When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

China

Chinese Billionaire Seeks Wife: Only Virgins Need Apply

YANGCHENG EVENING NEWS(China)

GUANGZHOU - Eleven anonymous multi-millionaire Chinese entrepreneurs, all multi-millionaires, have posted ads in ten cities in a new public search for wives.

The chance to marry one of the men, each with a net worth of at least 100 million RMB ($15 million), found no shortage of eager applicants, reports the Yangcheng Evening News. Some 320 contestants, out of the initial 2800 candidates, were to be given a first-round interview this week at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou City.

The interview includes five steps. First, for each lady, her physical appearance is closely studied. A plastic surgeon is present to make sure the candidate has not undertaken any cosmetic surgery. Her personality and psychology are then evaluated. Her face is studied, with the physiognomy given due note. Her talents and upbringing are marked. And she is asked for her views of emotional and marital life.

The organizer of the contest was succinct: "We are committed to solving the entrepreneurs' marriage issues. Any woman chosen will be the mother of the next generation of a rich family, as well as having a spouse with huge assets to manage," the organizer said. "It is much more important for the entrepreneurs to find a suitable wife than for ordinary folk."

The basic benchmarks for the short-listed contestants are to be single, aged between 19 and 28, 160 to 175 cm tall, with a college degree and outstanding appearance.

However, what has aroused the most attention is the special requirement from one particular billionaire. He is divorced, over 40, well-known and with strong athletic build -- and his candidate wife has to have no prior sexual experience.

When interviewed by the Yangcheng reporter, most girls denied being gold-diggers. They say they are just ensuring a better future for their children. But one girl admitted that she has decided to take the shortcut because "It's too risky to invest in potential stock".

Most girls also say they accept and understand the virginity requirement. When asked if they'd accept to undergo a physical examination to prove it, one of them said frankly "It's not difficult to have the hymen repaired in a medical institute. Such a provision doesn't make much sense."

Read the original article in Chinese :

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest