Buyback is for the share market, not hearts!

By Li Qingqing Source:Global Times Published: 2019/11/22 16:13:40

Photo: IC



Money cannot buy true love. But can money help people rescue a relationship which is about to break down? Unfortunately, no! In a materialistic world, feelings are yet to completely give way to the power of pelf. 

According to the Beijing Youth Daily, a Chinese woman surnamed Zhao wanted to get her ex-boyfriend back after they broke up over trivial issues. Not knowing what to do, Zhao approached a consulting company which claimed that it can help people save their relationship. Zhao paid the company 12,760 yuan ($1,813), but her relationship with her ex-boyfriend worsened after attempts to salvage it. The company bluntly refused to refund the fee, and even used the contract they signed to threaten Zhao.

The words "save relationship service" on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao return a variety of results. These vendors on Taobao call themselves teachers. After you pay them, they will provide you with a whole set of plans to help win your ex back. Most of them will cost you hundreds of yuan, and some even more than 1,000 yuan ($142). They guarantee reuniting you with your former lover. They will teach you how to talk to your ex - mostly exaggerated flattery - and how to swallow your pride and forgive every mistake your ex made.

It is highly likely that people, especially those dumped by their partner and seeking to try everything to win their love back, take the bait. With the teachers' whole set of plans, the heart-broken may see a shimmer in the dark. Thus, they may pay for the seemingly promising plans and hope to be rescued.

However, most of the time, a refund eludes the client even when the so-called teachers' plans have failed. The teachers always have excuses: You did not do exactly what they told you to do; you did not put your whole heart into getting your ex back; you need more time and should not give up. All in all, it is never their problem.

People who pay for such services should understand that every couple has their own problems, and few sets of plans cannot help them all. To put it simply, don't you know your boyfriend or girlfriend better than these so-called teachers? Love is unpredictable and there is not a perfect plan to win it back.

To follow a few steps designed by someone else is not a sincere way to show love. These so-called teachers are trying to cover the complexity of human emotions. This is a fraud, and if naïve people fall into the trap, their already bruised heart will be battered. 

But the increasingly popular service also shows that qualified marriage and family counselors are still not enough in China. According to a survey by the Social Survey Center of China Youth Daily via Wenjuan.com in April, 55.4 percent of the 2,002 respondents suggested that the Ministry of Civil Affairs should be equipped with official marriage and family counselors to save the marriage. Analysts said that in Western countries, every 300 to 500 families have one such counselor, and by this ration, China still needs at least 1 million counselors.

If there are more qualified counselors in China, these unqualified "teachers" will have fewer opportunities to swindle money out of others. Chinese government should also impose stricter regulation on these services that claim to save broken relationship and be aware of Chinese people's growing need in emotional counseling service.

More importantly, people should not be blinded by the fake counselors. Love is a test of two sincere hearts and it cannot be easily brought back by simple tricks and plans.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Posted in: VIEWPOINT

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