"I bought a bride!”exclaimed a middle-aged man when I met him the summer of 2004.Like many other men in rural Taiwan without a high paying job, advanced degree,or home in one of Taiwan's cities,this man was approaching 40 years of age without a wife or child,requisite symbols of success and maturity in this Confucian-influenced society.With few opportunities for marriage in sight,he decided to pursue a path toward marriage taken by thousands of other men in Taiwan:He contacted a professional marriage broker,who for a fee arranged to have him fly to Vietnam where he could meet women interested in marriage.He and five other Taiwanese men,who previously did not know each other,boarded a plane for Vietnam,and there met women who had left their homes in Cambodia,waiting to be"chosen”by their future husband. My friend expressed interest in one woman he found attractive and intelligent,who had graduated from high school and attended university.She assented to his request,and they were married in a brief ceremony,as were the other four couples.Then after a short"honeymoon”with their brides, the Taiwanese men flew home,while the women remained in Cambodia for several more months until the marriage company arranged their spousal visas, which allowed them to fly to Taiwan and begin married life.