A recent article by Kerry Allen, published by the BBC, discusses the emergence of the phenomenon of a ‘break-up fee’ in China. While this is common in long-term de facto relationships and marriages, where both parties have normally put in huge efforts to maintain the relationship, this new phenomenon has been emerging between youths in a dating context.
A break-up fee involves a consideration of the time and effort invested, the level of potential emotional devastation on behalf of the other party, and even the amount of money their ex-partner had spent on them over the course of the relationship. There are numerous suggestions of why this phenomenon has occurred, from guilt on the side of the person ending the relationship to a desire to compensate for lost opportunities of the other party to prioritise other endeavours, romantic or otherwise.
The latest in this trend is an attempted cash payout of ¥2 million or A$417,263 between an ex-couple in a bar in Hangzhou. This went horribly wrong as the 20-something year old woman considered the payment to fall well short of what she deserved, with both parties leaving the cash at the premises (oops!). The man later retrieved the money from the police, and was left wondering if he really hadn’t offered enough after all.
