Kathmandu, 23 Jul: One day, Sabina (name changed) was approached by Tilkumari BK with a proposal to marry a Chinese man. At first, Sabina was surprised and immediately declined. However, Tilkumari kept visiting the shop where Sabina worked for nearly a month. She eventually convinced her, saying the man was good and had built a house in Pokhara.
“She told me, ‘You’ve suffered a lot. There’s a good Chinese guy here. He lives locally, and we’ll take full responsibility,’” Sabina recalled. “I said I’d marry if everything seemed fine—and I did.”
Sabina’s marriage to the Chinese man took place on Jestha 11 (May 24) at a party palace in Buddha Chowk. But after living together for a month, she discovered the marriage had been fake.
“In that same party palace, 8–9 Nepali girls were married off to Chinese men within a single month,” she claimed.
On the evening of October 1 (Asoj 14), Shanti Nepali from Rastra Bank Chowk in Pokhara took Rabina (name changed) to a Chinese restaurant in Lakeside, saying she was to marry a Chinese man. When Rabina arrived, she found a bridal outfit waiting for her at the restaurant. Shanti asked her to wear the dress. Once she had put it on, a 33-year-old Chinese national named Li Ming Ming applied vermillion (sindoor) to her forehead, symbolizing marriage.
The two stayed together for some time at a hotel in Jaributi. A complaint was later filed with police stating that Ming repeatedly raped Rabina against her will. “He started strangling me and beating me for no reason. He told me, ‘I paid six lakh rupees to marry you. Return that money and get out,’” Rabina stated in her police report.
These incidents are not isolated. There is a growing trend of Chinese men marrying Nepali women with false promises of taking them to China. According to victims, a network facilitating such marriages is actively operating in Pokhara.
In the fiscal year 2081/82 alone, four cases involving Chinese nationals were registered with the Kaski District Police. According to Kaski Police Chief SP Shyam Babu Oliya, five Chinese nationals have been arrested in connection with these incidents.
“Among the registered cases, two are related to human trafficking and transportation, while two involve rape charges,” said Kaski Police Chief SP Shyam Babu Oliya. Preliminary investigations by police reveal that Chinese men have been approaching Nepali women with promises of marriage, relocation to China, buying them homes, and providing financial support — only to later subject them to sexual exploitation against their will.
According to Oliya, these Chinese nationals visit Pokhara and deliberately seek out women from economically vulnerable backgrounds. “They use intermediaries to identify such women, marry them under the pretense of a better life in China, and then exploit or abandon them instead of taking them abroad,” he explained. “In two cases, the victims were underage girls. We are treating these cases with utmost seriousness.”
All five Chinese nationals arrested in connection with the four registered cases have been sent to jail for pre-trial detention, Oliya confirmed. As marriage cases with Chinese nationals increase, the police have initiated awareness programs. However, most incidents are still going unreported, and some Nepali women who married Chinese men have already been taken to China — their whereabouts unknown even to their families and authorities.
“Some cases may never have reached us,” Oliya admitted. “We still need to investigate whether the women taken to China are being treated well or not.”
Advocate Bhagawati Pahari noted that the number of court-registered marriages between Chinese men and Nepali women has been rising. “There have been some court marriages, but authorities have now begun examining the documents more strictly,” she said. “In many cases, there are no proper documents at all. The situation is becoming increasingly alarming.”
Pahari warned that if awareness campaigns are not launched immediately, Pokhara could face a crisis similar to that of Sindhupalchok, which became notorious for human trafficking. “There’s an underground network of brokers operating here. Girls from poor families are easily lured,” she added. “We are seeing a rise in cases of human trafficking disguised as marriage. If immediate attention isn’t given, the consequences could be severe and terrifying.”
The presence of Chinese nationals in Pokhara is growing. Some have settled down to do business, while others visit as tourists — but with rising concerns about hidden motives.
