Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE, BEH YUEN HUI and R. ARAVINTHAN
COUPLES in China can now register their marriages at a bank, following the opening of the country’s first marriage registration facility inside a financial institution.
The Donghai Marriage Registration Office officially opened the service at the Postal Savings Bank of China’s Sishuidao branch in Tianjin earlier this month.
A bank employee said couples registering their marriages at the “Love Bank” could complete the process more quickly than at a civil affairs bureau, Oriental Daily Online reported.
“They will also receive a customised bank card featuring their photo,” the employee said.
Couples can also write down their hopes for their future together and place the notes in a dedicated postbox. The letters will be mailed back to them seven years later.
China has been stepping up efforts to encourage marriage and childbirth, including making marriage registration more convenient.
Since May last year, couples are no longer required to present household registration documents when registering their marriages, allowing them to tie the knot anywhere in the country without needing their parents’ consent.
> The daily also reported that a 22-year-old university student in China spent his summer holiday lying in bed in an air-conditioned room, watching dramas and playing video games.
Apart from getting up to eat and use the toilet, he barely moved.
After about two weeks, his left calf began to feel uncomfortable and became hard.
Three days later, his entire leg had become severely swollen and painful, leaving him unable to stand or walk.
An ultrasound scan found blood clots in the veins of his left thigh and pelvis, and he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
A doctor from the Central Hospital of Wuhan said DVT was once considered a condition that mainly affected older people, but more young people were now developing it.
He said the rise was closely linked to spending long hours on electronic devices and remaining seated or lying down for extended periods.
(The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.)
