《中英對照讀新聞》First China alternative marriage Web site thrives 中國首個另類婚姻網站大受歡迎

◎俞智敏

Online marriage brokers are common in China, but a young Chinese Web site is thriving by turning the traditional idea of marriage on its head.

線上徵婚交友的網站在中國相當常見，但一個成立不久的中國網站徹底改變婚姻的傳統觀念，而且大受歡迎。

Called "Marriage for Asexuals" （www.wx920.com）, the site claims to be the first and biggest online marriage broker for "asexual" people in China. It says it has attracted 7,000 members since it was launched last year.

這個名為「無性婚姻網」的網站，聲稱是全中國第一個、也是最大的專為「無性」族群所設立的婚友網站。該網站自稱從去年開張以來，已吸引了7,000名會員加入。

Its rapid success illustrates the expansion of the Internet in China, the increasingly permissive nature of Chinese society -- and the way in which small but growing minorities of people are stepping away from traditions that have dominated culture for thousands of years.

此網站的快速成功，說明了網路在中國迅速擴展、中國社會日益開放，以及人數不多但不斷增加的少數族群逐漸脫離主導中國文化數千年的傳統。

"I came up with the idea to help a friend, who lost his sexual abilities after an accident," said the 33-year-old founder of the Web site, who works full-time for an information technology company in the remote southern province of Guangxi. The founder was willing to identify himself only by his Internet name Lin Hai, as he chose not to tell his parents and co-workers about the site because he worried about their reactions.

「我是為了幫助一個在一場意外後喪失了性功能的朋友才想出這個主意。」現年33歲的網站創辦人表示，他目前在中國南部偏遠的廣西省一家資訊科技公司擔任全職工作。他只願意透露他的網名為林海，因為擔心親友們的反應，所以也刻意向雙親與同事隱瞞這個網站。

Sixty percent of the site's customers are people who cannot have sex, Lin said. The rest are "comrades," the Chinese nickname for homosexuals, who sign on in search of an opposite-sex spouse, often to relieve social and family pressure.

該網站60%的客戶是無法擁有性生活者，林海表示。其餘則為「同志」—中文對同性戀者的暱稱，這些同志加入網站是為了找尋異性配偶，以紓解來自社會及家庭的壓力。

新聞辭典

marriage broker：婚姻介紹人，文中則指婚友網站。

turn something on its head：片語，指徹底改變原有概念，或以完全錯誤的方式使用某事。如 The basic problem is that your report turns history on its head.（最基本的問題是你的報告完全扭曲了歷史。）