Why is the number of single fathers above 60 in Hong Kong growing?

Failed cross-border marriages and changing gender roles have seen such cases more than double in a decade

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The number of single fathers in Hong Kong has been on the rise.

Published: 12:15pm, 23 Jun 2018Updated: 12:21pm, 23 Jun 2018

A loud crack marks the end of a scuffle between Joe Wong and his elder daughter, Jane, 15. The duo stare in shock at a bunk bed that has just collapsed – the result of Wong climbing onto the upper level in a fit of rage to snatch a game console out of the girl’s hands.

Luckily, no one is hurt, but the episode is just one of many conflicts in this single-parent household. Wong, 53, an engineer, has been raising two daughters on his own since his divorce seven years ago.

“We used to have really physical fights because of her obsession with gaming,” he says. “I had no clue what she was thinking about. All I could do was to be there and watch. And every day she becomes more boyish, more like me.”

Wong is far from alone when it comes to experiencing the challenges of parenting solo. Official statistics show that in 2016, Hong Kong was home to 14,169 single fathers who were divorced or separated – a 15.1 per cent rise from 12,312 a decade ago.

Joe Wong, 53, a single father, once had to seek help from social workers to deal with the rift between him and his elder daughter. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Older men in this position may face greater difficulties due to a lack of help or resources. A total of 7,164 single fathers are over the age of 50, up 81.3 per cent. Within this group, the number of those aged 60 or older more than doubled to 1,799 – an increase of 111 per cent from 852 in 2006.

These figures, however, buck the overall trend of single parents in the city, whose numbers have fluctuated over the years. The authorities count single parents as those with children under the age of 18.