The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that 1.613
million couples divorced last year, while 8.341 million couples
registered to marry.
Compared with the previous year, 282,000 more
couples got divorced?-- an increase of 21.2 percent?--
and 227,000 more couples registered to get married.
About 995,000 couples chose to divorce at civil
administration offices rather than suing in court, which is an
increase of 44 percent on 2003 and 62 percent of last year's total
divorces.
From 1978 to 2003, the number of couples getting
divorced grew by a factor of 3.2, according to the ministry.
Personal incompatibility was named as the most
common reason for divorce, while extramarital affairs came second,
being cited in around 30 percent of all cases.
An increase in the number of "DINK" (double income,
no kids) couples was also identified as a factor in making divorce
an easier option. "Among divorced couples, 40 percent have no
children," said Xu Anqi, an expert in family research at Shanghai
Academy of Social Sciences.
China's civil administration bodies should make
more efforts to educate people in taking a more cautious approach
to marriage, said Wu Changzhen, an expert in marriage and family
law at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.
Wu quotes three factors as important in explaining
the sharp rise: simpler divorce procedures, less social stigma and
greater freedom of choice.
After the new marriage law took effect in October
2003, couples can get divorce certificates on the spot if they
present residence booklets, identity cards, marriage certificates
and written divorce agreements. In the past they needed references
from employers or from local residents' or villagers' committees,
basic community organizations in China.
Whereas previously people who got divorced would be
viewed negatively by many, Chinese society now tends to take a less
judgmental attitude, said Wu.
Moreover, he said the opening up of society has
allowed people to enjoy more freedom in marriage. Instead of a
closed and simple social life decades ago, diverse lifestyles,
dissimilar employment as well as different sets of values make
family bonds less strong than before.
There is also some evidence that many of those
getting divorced are younger couples. A local court in Beijing’s
Chongwen District said that, of the 410 divorce cases they handled
last year, over 120 involved couples who were less than 25 years
old.
One Beijing law firm with many divorcing clients
agreed, saying that couples below 35 years old accounted
for?90 percent of the cases they dealt with.
(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency March 1,
2005)