Canadian in Love Searches for Lost Online “Girlfriend” in Shenzhen

Canadian in Love Searches for Lost Online “Girlfriend” in Shenzhen
Apr 24, 2015 By eChinacities.com

Editor's Note: This article from the Chinese media tells the story of Jake, a Canadian man who has been roaming the streets of Shenzhen this past week, searching for a Chinese woman he fell in love with online. People throughout Shenzhen have been trying to help Jake track down his online girlfriend, who he has little information about. However, the articles mentions that he met her on a website that charged him to message her, and the author seems skeptical about the validity of their “relationship.”

In either a love story for the ages, or a really embarrassing waste of effort, a 60 year old man from Vancouver, Canada named Jake traveled all the way to Shenzhen to find his Chinese online “girlfriend.” The two met in an online chat room where men can pay to chat with Asian women. However, when he proposed meeting up in person, his lady friend flaked out on him and refused to meet. Now, Jake has taken it upon himself to find her. Shenzheners are currently passing his photo around WeChat to help him out. Jake has now been in China for 13 days, and was interviewed looking for his lover near Shenzhen's KK Mall in Luohu wearing a sign in Chinese. 

“RiLi,” In Love

11 months ago, Jake met RiLi on a social networking site. RiLi told him that she was 44 years old and from Shenzhen. Jake said that he starting crushing on RiLi from message number one. The two emailed for months sending a total of 396 messages.

Here's where the story gets less cute. Jake said that the social networking site the two met on was one where men signed up specifically to meet Asian women. The site charged the men to send and receive messages: each message cost about 20 or 30 Yuan. In 11 months, Jake spent over 11,000 Yuan messaging RiLi. The website's employees would translate the messages for both parties, so the women did not have to speak English. Jake said that the website censored telephone numbers, addresses and other private information. “We could only communicate through the website.”

Let's Meet Up?

Despite what seems like a questionable set up, Jake said that he had fallen in love with RiLi. He said that he eventually learned that RiLi worked in a garment factory in Shenzhen and was divorced. Jake proposed traveling to China to meet up several times. However, each time, RiLi
said that she was too nervous to meet in person. She said that if they met in person, it would ruin their relationship.

Finally, Jake decided to come to Shenzhen to finally meet RiLi in person. But, after he landed in Shenzhen, Jake found that the social network site was suddenly not working. He could not connect with RiLi.

Searching in Shenzhen

After booking a room in Shenzhen's Donghu Hotel, Jake started to look for his lost love. The kind hotel staff decided to help him out. They made him a sign in Chinese and included the hotel's phone number so people could call and help him out. Every afternoon, Jake has gone out with the sign and walked around near the KK Mall. “Shenzheners are very friendly. Lots of them took my picture and sent it out to all their WeChat friends to help me out. I am very grateful to them!” said Jake.

To all of the nay-sayers out there, Jake says that, “I believe that she is real. We chatted for 11 months, I could tell that she loves me by her letters,” he said. Jake added that if he found RiLi he would be willing to give up his life in Canada and move in China to be with her. 

Source: QQ News

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Keywords: Canadian Shenzhen girlfriend Shenzhen online girlfriend

34 Comments

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Guest2781358

Proof you can be old and still naive

Jul 13, 2015 02:44 Report Abuse

Guest2301262

To be fair, in many ways China is the exact opposite of Canada. Any seasoned china expat can spot the scam. Except Jake has never been to China. He probably wanted to see China anyway thanks to CCP's propaganda. What's CAD 2000, probably 1-2 month of his retirement pension? How much 'happiness' did he buy? As long as the guy is happy and consider it a bargain, it's his money. He paid up. These mainland china low lives however will pay for their deception.

Apr 29, 2015 23:54 Report Abuse

ronnie2015

Same scam as other countries in eastern europe, latin america and obviously china. Guy was a moron! First message you ask for a person's skype for a webchat, if you cant speak the language have google translate installed-you speak into it and speaks out in thus language. Guy isn't 60 more like 70, and looks like a full walking around Shenzhen publicly shaming his own ignorance.

Apr 29, 2015 17:22 Report Abuse

CinemaFace

I hate scammers that prey on the naive and the elderly. I feel sorry for victims, but sometimes, people can be such suckers that it’s hard to feel sorry for them. Jake sounds like one of the most desperate, pathetic love-sick fools that I’ve ever heard of. If I would ever meet Jake, I’d like to ask him some questions. Such as: Did it occur to you that this website is a trap? Basically, you can never exchange personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, email, facebook, etc… so you’re forever stuck paying their exorbitant prices for correspondence that is otherwise free. Did you ever think that maybe you shouldn’t pin all your hopes and dreams on one person on the other side of the world whom you’ve never met? Do you realize that she might not be at all what you think she is? What was your logic of traveling halfway around the world to meet someone (who never agreed to meet you) when you don’t have an address or phone number? Also, you don’t speak the language or understand the culture. What do you think the odds are of finding one person in a city of 10 million or so? What was your plan if (and it’s a huge if) you do find her? You can’t communicate because of the language barrier. What kind of welcome did you expect? What kind of relationship will it be if you can’t communicate? Don’t you think that going to this extreme length to chase this lady might come across as desperate? What do you think about women who are so extremely desperate to get a man? Do you find it attractive? Do you think your lady friend will find it attractive? Sometimes we men can do the stupidest things for love.

Apr 29, 2015 12:33 Report Abuse

Guest2293426

Pity much with Jake, China pretty much fake account from the website.

Apr 28, 2015 12:14 Report Abuse

thelatinodancer

common Chinese scam bro!! Probably he was talking with another Chinese dude employee in the chat room.Poor guy!!

Apr 27, 2015 10:53 Report Abuse

superduper

Canadians like to kill old ladies on the Great Wall and look for non-existent females.

Apr 27, 2015 10:50 Report Abuse

mrwiener

Where as you are just here looking for downvotes?

Apr 27, 2015 15:30 Report Abuse

yongge

Jake you have been had. Find a real girl while you are there, there are plenty. There are much better sites, where you pay for a month and can contact girls yourself. Why do you need a website to translate for you at a cost, just use Google Translate. I found my GF on chineselovelinks and we have been together for a few years now.

Apr 26, 2015 17:28 Report Abuse

aljuboori

what a pity, over 60 yrs old, and still doesn't understand that love is not real, just a state of mind that comes and goes for a short time period. nothing destroys a man worse than hope. poor guy, with all these years of experience still haven't given up. respect

Apr 26, 2015 14:18 Report Abuse

Fordicus

Ahh man, have a heart for a sucker. Almost want to go over to Louhu and find the guy, take him to dinner and give him a hug.

Apr 26, 2015 00:08 Report Abuse

englishman23

Sorry to state the obvious here but doesn't the chap in the photo appear to be 70+, if he is 60……he has had a very very hard life. Perhaps before all the messaging to the dude (who he thinks is a chick with loose knickers) has taken its toll! Just walk around the main streets in Shenzhen I am sure you will find a better one thats not gonna need 30rmb a message lol

Apr 25, 2015 23:11 Report Abuse

Guest2301262

Even more lovely and funny if it was you.

Apr 29, 2015 23:57 Report Abuse

Guest14196476

I believe this is really positive energy of Chinese guy,loyal,firm and brave.

Apr 29, 2015 23:01 Report Abuse

Guest14196476

What do you mean by lol?

Apr 29, 2015 22:58 Report Abuse

ScotsAlan

The photo attached to this article is pretty good. Chinese media has some really good photographers.

Apr 25, 2015 21:54 Report Abuse

Spiderboenz

11000 messages, at 30 RMB a pop...330,000 RMB... OVER $53,000 WOW, he got fleeced.

Apr 25, 2015 17:22 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

He and anyone that pays 11,000 RMB to send/receive messages is an ignorant idiot.

Apr 27, 2015 12:35 Report Abuse

royceH

What a cool dude!

Apr 25, 2015 13:15 Report Abuse

Jane910112

Yeah,really charming.

Apr 29, 2015 22:56 Report Abuse

indalkar

Why is this portrayed as a con? either the guy is simply too stupid... or was too desperate to get into pants of lady 16 years younger then him. which he knows was impossible in Canada...

Apr 25, 2015 09:41 Report Abuse

bill8899

Because it's a con created for guys like him. So it is a con. Not so difficult, is it?

Apr 25, 2015 13:13 Report Abuse

indalkar

The way I see it, the con maybe was the emails, maybe the website people were replying to his E-mails, who's to know if there is lady by that name even exists... I would also give it to a guy, maybe since in his era the internet did not exist (by the picture he looks somewhere around 70), he wouldn't know much about even the simple con that can be played on the internet... But if he is capable enough of finding a website, making a payment to use the website, then this is not excusable... this is just sheer stupidity!

Apr 25, 2015 15:04 Report Abuse

Englteachted

"Lots of them took my picture and sent it out to all their WeChat friends to help me out. I am very grateful to them!" What a moron.

Apr 25, 2015 07:16 Report Abuse

guest55555

I myself have used an "international matchmaking service" before I came to China. I knew I was coming anyway and figured it would be a good start to meet the girl of my dreams. The site I used was called A Foreign Affair. I was very skeptical throughout the entire ordeal because it is exactly as described in this report. Long story short, I talked with a girl in Changsha for about 2 years prior to coming here, finally met her, and she didn't look like the photos. Now that I've been in China for a couple years I understand almost every girl photoshops. According to AFA, I had to pay to send and receive emails, and when I met my girl she was conveniently on her period. I spent a week in that city and she only made time to meet me twice for about an hour each time. It doesn't cost her anything to send emails to me but they are always translated. I feel for this guy, I really do. My guess is his girl was just someone part of the company who gets paid to send messages, or there really was a girl and she was getting paid by the company or found someone else. Granted I don't know the whole story, but based on my experience with this situation, it's the best guess I have.

Apr 25, 2015 02:49 Report Abuse