A mother's ad calling for her son to come home for Chinese New Year ran on the front page of the Chinese Melbourne Daily newspaper on January 14. It placed a full page ad, saying "Dear Peng, I've called you many times but you don't pick up, maybe you will see this. Dad and mom won't ever force you to get married anymore, come home for Chinese New Year! From your mom who loves you." The ad, which appeared on the front page of the Chinese Melbourne Daily on Tuesday, would cost $2,796.80 Australian dollars ($2465). The newspaper serves the city's Chinese community. The mother, who lives in Guangzhou had placed the ad after losing contact with her son. Every year around this time, many Chinese prepare to head home for China's most important festival. But many of the younger generation are afraid of facing family confrontations about their love life. On the online Chinese forum Tianya. cn, a single man asked for advice on facing his family. "It's almost that time of the year. How should I explain to my family and relatives that I am single?" a user in Guangzhou "1979xiaozhu" posted. Many of the replies were telling him not to go home instead. User "qianlidaiwanwoduxing" wrote: "Going home means they will either arrange blind dates for you or you get scolded." "This year my mom gave me an ultimatum. One, bring 50,000 yuan; second, bring a wife home. If I don't have both then she said I don't need to come home. What a tragedy!" said user "fghjkh84". Those girls who can't handle the pressure of parents can rent a boyfriend for the day through China's online shopping giant, Taobao.com. Rental boyfriends come with services such as meeting the parents, shopping and watching movies. Why did the mother place the ad in the Chinese Melbourne Daily?
Because her son didn't want to get married in China. Because she couldn't get in touch with her son any more. Because her son wanted to live alone in Australia. Because she wanted her son to come back to work.