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China

Rent-A-Girlfriend (Or Boyfriend) For Chinese New Year To Keep Family Quiet

XINHUA, JIANGXI, GLOBAL TIMES ( China), WANT DAILY (Taiwan)

JIANGXI – The Chinese New Year is the worst holiday to be single in China – the family pressure is too intense. “With or without money, get married to have a better New Year,” goes the Chinese proverb.

The Chinese New Year– also called the Spring Festival – starts on February 10 this year, and lasts for seven days. Traditionally, everyone heads home for the holiday, and there is a lot of pressure for young men and women to bring a girlfriend/boyfriend home to meet their relatives.

“How old are you? When are you getting married? I have got someone to introduce to you…” this is what young singles have to face when going home for the holidays, according to Xinhua.

Thanks to modern technology, this is not a problem anymore. Many Chinese online shopping sites have started offering “Rent a girlfriend/boyfriend to take home” services, with photos of prospective fake partners.

“Female, college graduate, from Anhui Province. Don’t get me wrong, I rent out my time, not any part of my body…” says this advert on Zuyou (meaning rent a friend) Net.

“I’m 170 cm and 30-years-old, mature and polite, humorous as well as excellent at singing karaoke,” Xinhua quoted another.

On taobao.com, China's largest auctioning website, there are at least 716 services that offer boyfriends for hire and 1,495 that offer girlfriends for hire, according to the Global Times.

The prices of these rentals varied mostly from 200-2000 Yuan ($32-$320) a day depending on the required length of the “lease” and appearance, education and manners. “Girls who are beautiful or hot cost more,” obviously, wrote the Global Times.

Some specify their services in detail. “200 Yuan per day plus each meeting with relatives is an additional 50 Yuan ($8); holding hands or having meals with the family is charged extra …” according to Want Daily.

Both renter and “rentee” are usually required to show ID before they sign their rental agreement. However, as two lawyers warned on a Jiangxi expand=1] satellite TV station, young singles who are tempted to rent someone to take home for the holidays should be aware that girlfriend/boyfriend rental is not a legal trading practice. The signed agreement can’t be regarded as valid and thus cannot protect the involved parties. Not to mention the potential danger that taking a stranger home might lead to.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

Why Poland's Break With Ukraine Weakens All Enemies Of Russia — Starting With Poland

Poland’s decision to stop sending weapons to Ukraine is being driven by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party's short-term electoral calculus. Yet the long-term effects on the world stage could deeply undermine the united NATO front against Russia, and the entire Western coalition.

Photo of ​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Lutsk, Ukraine, on July 9

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Lutsk, Ukraine, on July 9

Bartosz T. Wieliński

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland has now moved from being the country that was most loudly demanding that arms be sent to Ukraine, to a country that has suddenly announced it was withholding military aid. Even if Poland's actions won't match Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s words, the government has damaged the standing of our country in the region, and in NATO.

“We are no longer providing arms to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland,” the prime minister declared on Polsat news on Wednesday evening. He didn’t specify which type of arms he was referring to, but his statement was quickly spread on social media by leading figures of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

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

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When news that Poland would be withholding arms to Ukraine made their way to the headlines of the most important international media outlets, no politician from PiS stepped in to refute the prime minister’s statement. Which means that Morawiecki said exactly what he meant to say.

The era of tight Polish-Ukrainian collaboration, militarily and politically, has thus come to an end.

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