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博主按语：波兰总统候选人蒂明斯基与中国深圳打工妹吴木兰通过网恋缔结姻缘的故事，成为涉外婚姻的佳话，被涉外婚介传为美谈。然而，并非所有的涉外婚姻都是幸福的，尤其是对于掉入非法涉外婚介陷阱的那些妇女们来说，更是一场恶梦。涉外婚介，究竟是异国婚姻的“红娘”，还是金钱陷阱的“药引”，6月17日，我接受北京青年报英文周刊《今日北京》记者采访，就我国涉外婚介市场所存在的法律问题做了详细点评。

记者：我国政策与法律关于涉外婚姻中介市场的规定是怎样的？

余：  我国没有开放涉外婚姻市场。国务院曾在1994年发布了《国务院办公厅关于加强涉外婚姻介绍管理的通知》。《通知》中明确要求“严禁成立涉外婚姻介绍机构”，并规定不得开展涉外婚姻介绍试点工作。如发现有继续从事涉外婚姻介绍或变相从事涉外婚姻介绍活动的机构，民政部门要会同公安、工商等行政管理部门坚决予以取缔。
记者：我们的涉外婚姻中介现状是怎样的？

余：  我国婚介市场普遍存在以下几个问题：

      1、无视法律规定，顶风作案。最为典型的是成立于2000年的易广联婚姻咨询有限公司，公开从事涉外婚介业务，分支机构遍及全国20多个城市，受害妇女数千人。最终于2008年3月被取缔，相关负责人被判刑。

      2、变相从事涉外婚介业务。尽管法律法规不允许开展涉外婚介业务，但其广阔的市场需求和巨大的利益，使得涉外婚介“树欲静而风不止”，一直是暗潮汹涌，变相从业。其形式主要有以下几种：

      A 、名为翻译公司，实为涉外婚介。据了解，在北京、天津、武汉等大城市，已有多家翻译公司在从事涉外婚介业务，他们多与一些急欲嫁到国外而不懂外文外语的女性签订翻译合同，收取巨额翻译费，实际上为这些女性牵线搭桥，帮她们给国外的朋友写信、上网聊天、代谈恋爱。

      B、婚介公司暗中从业涉外婚介业务。如，设立所谓高级会员部，收取高额会员费，实际上这些入会的所谓高级会员入会的目的很明确：就是寻觅异国伴侣。

      C、散发小广告，吸引那些急于出国找对象的或找对象出国的女青年。这些小广告上明确写着：“二万元包你找个洋丈夫出国，不成功退款。”他们躲藏在居民楼里面，打一枪换一个地方，让执法人员难以查处。

      D、一些所谓情缘网站泛滥，他们打着异国征友的旗号，大量发展会员。实际上是从事涉外婚介服务。

      E、一些涉外婚姻咨询公司兼营涉外婚介业务。由于涉外婚姻咨询公司可以合法成立，有的便在合法的外衣下，从事非法的涉外婚介活动，一旦被举报，他们便说“我们没有充当涉外婚介，只是提供涉外婚姻的咨询服务。

      F、一些涉外劳务中介公司变相非法从事涉外婚介业务。

      G、一些民间“媒婆”也在搞外变相从事涉外婚姻。

     总之，在国家三令五申取缔非法涉外黑中介后，现在的涉外婚介服务市场更具有隐蔽性，比如：办公场所的选择更具有隐蔽性，从繁华地段转至小街僻巷，同时不再进行大肆宣传；对外公示的服务更具有隐蔽性，只说“婚介”不提“涉外”，但其实以涉外婚介为牟取暴利的主营业务；甚至采取更隐蔽的说法，以个人名义“替友征婚”，打法律的擦边球。

记者：它们都存在哪些普遍性问题？您是否可以总结一下接触过的当事人描述的婚介公司的骗人手段么？

余：  非法婚介的骗人手段可谓多种多样，层出不穷，主要有以下几种：

      手段一：签订条款苛刻合同

      婚介机构一般情况下会要求当事人先交款再签合同，合同条款设计苛刻、显失公平，其中一般情况下均会约定通过婚介（甲方）协助达成以下任何一项即视为已完成婚介服务承诺，则婚介收取的费用不再退回：

      1、双方已经书信来往或交换EMAIL地址，双方已经通话；

      2、涉外应婚者已承诺与乙方见面或来信邀请乙方见面或双方已经见面；

      3、乙方已收到对方的礼金或双方已谈及组建婚姻家庭事宜；

      4、对方已承诺为乙方担保办理末婚(妻／夫)手续或签证；

      5、双方承诺或已订婚／结婚；

      6、代理乙方在国内／境外华文报刊及网站上刊登征婚交友广告或进行网络宣传。

      手段二：偷梁换柱签订合同

      面对那些强烈要求先看合同再付钱的会员，婚介人员则会采取偷梁换柱的手法。有当事人遇到这样的情况：先看到一份注明“保证成功，否则全额退款”的“假合同”，等交了钱在看推荐对象照片时被要求签字的是婚介人员神不知鬼不觉地换了的另外一份无此条款的“真合同”。

      手段三：步步下套安排婚托

      婚介安排会员与涉外应婚者匆匆一见，然后提出对方已同意继续交往，此后对方基本是通过电子邮件和会员联系；甚至有当事人只是从婚介机构内部邮件里接收过对方照片及来信，究竟躲在网络后面的对方到底是征婚者、亦或婚托还是是婚介机构工作人员。。。这些都无从知晓。

      手段四：禁止会员私下联系

      禁止会员私下联系，一旦发现，已收取费用不再退还。

 

记者：你们在处理这样的案件时最麻烦的事情是什么？

余：  律师处理此类案件中，最麻烦的就是被骗当事人在发现受骗之后，希望挽回自己的损失，但是之前的合同里未体现“促成涉外婚姻”，那这样的话，该合同就无法以违反国家强制性规定直接认定无效，这时证明签订合同时婚介机构存在欺诈行为请求法院认定合同无效或可撤销的举证较困难；另外，核实涉外应婚者的真实身份的相关调查取证工作很艰难。

记者：对于这些问题的解决您有什么好的建议么?

余：  我们的建议是：

      第一、加快立法，进一步规范涉外婚介市场。乞今为止，仅国务院于1994年发布的《国务院办公厅关于加强涉外婚姻介绍管理的通知》中规定任何机构与个人不得从事涉外婚介业务。16年过去，中国发生了翻天覆地的变化，有些人甚至认为这一规定已经不合时宜，应该废止，更何况严格的说仅是一种政策规定，还没有上升到法律法规的层面，所以急需出台相应的法律法规或司法解释，以便做到有法可依。

      第二、在民政部、公安部的官方网站公布一批涉外婚介骗钱骗财蒙害妇女受到制裁的典型案例，以起警示教育作用。

      第三、广大妇女对涉外婚介要有防范意识，不能盲目相信。如果你与中介签订的合同中涉及以下条款，应充分认识到其中的陷阱和风险：

      1、婚介（甲方）保证对方和乙方在服务时间内订婚、结婚。“订婚”不是法律术语，无法产生法律效力；“保证结婚”超出中介机构的业务和能力范畴，是甲方不可能履行的合同义务，这已经构成了合同欺诈。

      2、部分合同中注有甲方保证乙方获领某个国家签证的条款。即使获得签证的条件完全符合，也可能遭到领事馆拒签，婚介公司根本无法保证“获得签证”。

      3、甲方在合同中声明，乙方与对方交往必须有感情、时间、精力的投入才会成功，否则，甲方不保障服务效果，并不承担退款责任。该条款是甲方要求乙方的合同义务，但“感情、时间、精力的投入”是无法确定的因素，甲方无法判断乙方是否投入与投入多少；同时，甲方提出的这一免责理由令上述两项“结婚保证”、“获领签证保证”落空，条款之间互相矛盾。

      第四、与涉外应婚者见面后，要求对方提供其所在国的中国使领馆对其出具的身份证明。

      第五、一旦发现婚介机构侵犯了自己的合法权益，应及时要求退款，或直接向工商或公安机关报案。

      第六、建议正视涉外婚姻的存在，改堵为疏，正确引导涉外婚介，规范涉外婚介市场，使涉外婚介走上良性循环。如，在北京、上海、广州、深圳等大城市先行试点，对涉外婚介的设立审批、从业人员的资质取得等予以规范管理。

记者：你们公司有关涉外婚介损害被骗当事人而寻求法律服务每年的增长比例是多少有过统计吗?

余： 成逐年上升趋势，每年的增长比例大概有20%左右。

记者：受害人的年龄层次大概是多少岁？主要是女性群体吗？她们主要都是从事哪些行业的？受骗群体的人有什么样的共性？

余：  受害人年龄从20岁到55岁都有；主要是女性群体；人员成份也都很杂，从高级白领到下岗人员都有。受骗群体的共性只有一个，就是——梦想通过成功缔结跨国婚姻拿到外国国籍从而过上有钱有质量的生活。

记者：那么在你们接手的案件中能成功讨回受害人损失的比例多吗?

余：  如果遭遇一些恶性的刑事案件，违法中介人去楼空，难度会比较大；而如果是民事纠纷，一般都能挽回受害人一定的损失。

 

记者：法院对该类案件的判决又是如何的呢？

余：  第一、如果是刑事案件，一般都是以“非法经营罪”对非法涉外婚介机构法定代表人或者从事涉外婚介的个人给予定罪、量刑。

      注：根据刑法第225条规定，非法经营罪是指自然人或单位，故意从事非法经营活动，扰乱市场秩序，情节严重的行为。（附《刑法》第二百二十五条【非法经营罪】：“违反国家规定，有下列非法经营行为之一，扰乱市场秩序，情节严重的，处五年以下有期徒刑或者拘役，并处或者单处违法所得一倍以上五倍以下罚金；情节特别严重的，处五年以上有期徒刑，并处违法所得一倍以上五倍以下罚金或者没收财产：（一）未经许可经营法律、行政法规规定的专营、专卖物品或者其他限制买卖的物品的；（二）买卖进出口许可证、进出口原产地证明以及其他法律、行政法规规定的经营许可证或者批准文件的；（三）未经国家有关主管部门批准，非法经营证券、期货或者保险业务的；（四）其他严重扰乱市场秩序的非法经营行为。”）

      第二、如果是民事纠纷，法院一般都会以双方就介绍涉外婚姻事宜达成的协议，违反了我国关于婚姻介绍机构和其他任何单位、个人都不得从事或变相从事涉外婚姻介绍活动的有关规定为由而认定协议无效。即使是介绍成功该协议仍为无效协议。因而判决返还当事人所交的费用。

 

Mixed matchmaking industry a money pit

June 21, 2010  Filed under Feature  

By Li Zhixin

Four years ago, a 37-year-old Chinese woman working in Shenzhen met Stanislaw Tyminski, then a contender for the Polish presidency, through an online-dating site.

It wasn’t long before she was whisked away to Canada for a flash wedding.

Many matchmaking agencies eager to pair single local women with foreign men have been keen to retell this Cinderella story.

But these eager women rarely learn what happened to their glass slippers — and their money.

THe government frowns on mixed matchmaking, but not enough to codify its prohitition. Chasing huge profits, many gray agents sell the promise of happiness abroad. CFP Photo

Fairy tale no more

Zhang Lan, 44, a sales representative, was stunned when she found the offices of Zhongmei Jiayuan matchmaking agency abandoned.

Only several months ago the agency was bustling with women desperate for a mixed marriage.

In Zhang’s case, her husband died in 2004 and she set her heart on making her next spouse a foreigner.

One day she found an Internet post promoting Zhongmei as having a very high mixed matchmaking success rate. She phoned the agency and arranged to meet with a representative.

A woman surnamed Wu told her Zhongmei cooperated with several matchmaking agencies abroad. If Zhang paid to become a member, they would upload her picture and information to the foreign sites and help introduce her to foreign clients.

“When I asked how I could be sure the information is true, she assured me that the men in the database were strictly screened by their foreign partners,” she said. “She told me that most men were middle class and interested in Chinese women, and that the success rate of their matches was consequentially quite high.”

Wu told her the foreign men would usually aid a woman in getting a visa and moving abroad.

Zhang said her dream came with a 40,000-yuan price tag: of course, she could pay in installments.

“Their contract said I had to pay 20,000 yuan up front to become a member and another 20,000 when one of their men decided to marry me,” she said.

After paying the initial membership fee, Zhang was allowed to scan through their albums and pick her favorite man.

“Wu helped me narrow down my choices and after an hour I settled on one of the men, a 45-year-old British man who owned 2 hectares of land and several chain supermarkets,” she said.

“Wu promised me that I would be in touch with the man within one month and said she would call me when he gave her a response.”

Zhang was daydreaming about life in the UK when she left the agency. In the following days, Wu called frequently with status updates. She told her the man would be coming to China next month to meet her in person.

She counted the days in anticipation, but grew suspicious when Wu’s calls stopped coming.

Several days later, she called Wu a dozen times hoping to fix a date, but found Zhongmei’s office line had been disconnected.

A market in chaos

Most agencies use the same tactics to hoodwink divorcees, spinsters and widows.

The initial membership that enables the client to view potential mates abroad costs 20,000 to 60,000 yuan. More money follows after a successful match.

“No one can supervise their procedures. Even if they find a guy for you, you will never know his true identity. All you see is a picture, and possibly forged personal information,” said Yang Tianfang, 38, a divorcee with limited English skills.

Yang said she was not allowed to communicate with the potential mate the agency located.

“I was asked to use the agency’s assigned email address to communicate through an intermediary. The agency said this was so it could help translate,” she said.

“I was never allowed to see any of the emails before they were translated, and when I wrote back, the agency once again acted as the gatekeeper. Only the agency knows if any of those letters were actually from a foreigner.”

Yu Jing, a marriage counselor of Yinke Law Office, said, “I’ve seen a 20 percent increase in the number of clients looking for lawyers to sue these matchmaking agencies since last year.”

Victims are generally women between the ages of 40 and 55. They are rarely competitive in the local marriage market. Usually years of work or a broken marriage killed their passion and they are seeking a change through a foreign spouse, Yu said.

“One thing they all have in common is that they dream of getting foreign citizenship and leading a rich life after their marriage. They are also united by their poor English,” she said.

Aside from matchmaking agencies and online dating sites, many translation agencies engage in the marriage business. On the surface they advertise expensive translation services, but they actually provide work as a go-between for clients seeking a foreign man.

“Our translators are professionals at wooing foreign guys. They can help you to make a favorable impression. If you can’t speak English, we can be a stand-in,” said Huang MeiHui, a worker at Meizhiyuan Translation Company.

In order to cover their tracks, some agencies have no physical office. When this reporter attempted to phone Yueyangyuan, a similar Beijing-based mixed matchmaking agency, to arrange an office consultation, its receptionist hung up the phone and rejected all calls.

Industry short of laws

Technically speaking, the mixed matchmaking industry is banned.

In 1994, the General Office of the State Council issued a Circular on “Enhancing the Administration of Mixed Matchmaking Service” and called for a prohibition of the agencies.

The circular was issued to protect Chinese women from been defrauded, or at worst trafficked.

However, the circular was just that: a letter. It has no legal bearing. The huge demand and profits drive many agencies and online-dating sites to do the business regardless of how much the government frowns on their business.

“The policy is 16 years old and now terribly out of date. We don’t need to shut down the mixed matchmaking market — we need to regulate it and force these agencies to make sure the men they are recommending are really who they say they are,” said Ren Yuanzheng, a member of the National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

“It’s a matter of protecting Chinese women’s rights.”

Yang Lixun, director of the Institute for Social Development at the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, suggested the government attempt pilot operations in several cities before passing national regulations.

“The Chinese Matchmaking Industry Association of Social Workers Committees (CMIA) should establish an information platform for mixed marriage-seekers,” said Zhao Jin, president of 21xiehou.com, a matchmaking site.

“I think if CMIA steps up and asks similar foreign bodies to recommend trustworthy matchmaking agencies it will do wonders to improve the credibility of mixed matchmakers.”

 

 

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