Getting Married – Part 4
4Tuesday, continued …
Official Song walked around the desk and directed Hou Yi and Anna to sit down in the chairs in front of the desk. Anna noticed three small piles of paperwork on the desk, one of which had an Australian Passport on it, which she guessed was hers.
“Miss Jones,” Official Song stated as he picked up the passport, “Here is your passport back. We ask all foreigners who get married to provide their passports so we can confirm it is genuine, take a copy, and use it to verify your identity. Everything checked out for you.” Anna took it back and placed it securely in her handbag.
Official Song continued, “I’m about to start the process to record the issuing of your marriage certificate. While normally this process would be short, as we are filming it, to ensure I comply with the law, I have several things I need to say to ensure everything is legal. It will be boring…”
“Do not worry, Official Song, I’m a lawyer in Australia, and many people would joke that I specialize in boring,” interrupted Anna.
Hou Yi, understanding the joke, started laughing. He noticed that Official Song was mystified, so he explained, “Australians have a weird sense of humor. What my fiancée is saying here is that it’s thought Australian lawyers use a lot of jargon to comply with the law, and it can be annoying to people, which is what you were about to explain.”
Anna nodded to this, and Official Song took this as the signal to continue, “… but … oh forget it, let’s get started on getting you issued your marriage certificate, as you interrupted what I had to say, and I cannot seem to restart.” Official Song was struggling to keep a straight face, having finally understood Anna’s joke.
Official Song paused for a minute to settle down. He then picked up a remote, turned it so Hou Yi and Anna could see it, and pressed the record button. After a few seconds, he continued, “As we are filming the issuing of the marriage certificate for Hou Yi and Jones Anna, I will not only explain the process but ensure that all the requirements under the laws of the land are complied with so that Mr Hou and Miss Jones have their marriage certificate properly issued.”
“Further, in doing this, the family, friends, and others who will see the recording will understand that the laws of the land have been followed. As Miss Jones is a foreign national, separately to this, we have verified her identity using her passport. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, this process is not filmed, regardless of the citizenship of the foreign national. We here, at the Civil Administration Bureau in City T, are satisfied that Miss Jones is the person who appears in the passport that we have verified.”
“We now turn to the household register that Mr Hou has provided. I am satisfied that Mr Hou is the person identified in the household register, and that his details as listed in the register are correct. Further, as I have met Mr Hou on previous occasions and his image often appears in the press, in accordance with the discretion provided to me under the law, I have determined that I do not need to take additional steps to verify his identity further.”
“I have also, out of sight of this recording, and to protect Mr Hou’s personal information, confirmed through an examination of the national records of the Civil Administration Bureau that Mr Hou has never been legally married in this country before, nor has he had any foreign marriage recognized in this country.”
Turning to Hou Yi, Official Song asked, “Mr Hou, can you please confirm verbally that you have not been married in this country or in another country, and that there are no impediments for you to be legally married according to the law.”
Hou Yi clearly stated, “I can confirm that I have not been married in this country or another country, and that there are no impediments for me to be legally married according to the law.”
With that, he turned and looked directly at Anna and gave her a smile.
Official Song continued after picking up the papers that Anna’s passport had been sitting on, “Miss Jones, I have the necessary paperwork issued by the Australian Embassy in the capital for you to be legally married here. Normally, the omission of the name of your intended husband from the paperwork would mean it is flawed and would prevent you from being married.”
“However, attached to the paperwork is a letter from an Embassy Official who processed this paperwork, asking for the omission to be corrected once the official at the Civil Administration Bureau was satisfied with the identity of your husband. Out of sight of this filming, contact was made with the Embassy official who processed the paperwork. They confirmed that they had met Mr Hou on the day that your paperwork was completed but were unable to remain with you until the paperwork was completed, and they were satisfied with Mr Hou’s identity.”
“Provision exists under the law, provided the official issuing the marriage certificate is satisfied that the embassy official met the country’s citizen who is the intended spouse of the foreign national, on the day of completion of the paperwork, and they are satisfied as to the identity of this country’s citizen, the failure to have the marriage partner’s name written in the paperwork can be excused, provided it is accompanied by a letter such as is the case here.”
“Given the existence of the letter and the confirmations from the Australian Embassy, I am satisfied that there are grounds in accordance with the law to enable you, Miss Jones, as a foreign national, to marry Mr Hou here today in City T. Further, I note the certificate confirms for you, Miss Jones, there is no registered marriage in Australia, or the existence of any known legal impediment to enable your marriage. Can you, Miss Jones, please confirm that you have not been legally married in Australia or any other country and that there otherwise is no legal impediment for your marriage.”
In a quiet, but firm voice, directly looking at Hou Yi while answering Official Song, Anna stated, “I can confirm that I have not been legally married in accordance with the Laws of Australia or any other country, and that there is no legal impediment to my marriage.”
