Real risks

Figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed that 844,000 couples got divorced in the first six months of 2010, compared with 771,000 couples in the same period last year. But there are no statistics that show how many of them got divorced to buy a second flat.

For many, the move makes simple business sense, and carries no risk of the family breaking up.

Pan Guangrong (not his real name), 32, divorced his wife in July in Tianjin, and is preparing to remarry this month. "We are exploiting the loopholes in the regulations," Pan told the Global Times. "We are expecting a baby in January, and we need a bigger house. We have no choice."

However, Mi Liangyu, a marriage law expert from the Beijing Lawyers Association, said couples who do divorce for convenience run the risk of seeing their families disintegrate.

Some may want to permanently terminate the relationship if conflicts arise during the divorce period.

Li Yinhe, a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that if a couple's relationship is not strong to begin with, a fake divorce could be sufficient justification for one or both of the couple to have "affairs."

"Some of them may think that as they're already divorced, why not separate for a longer time?" she said. "Even after they remarry, they may think of divorce again when they face difficulties, as they've already divorced once."

Mi, the lawyer, believes more specific rules need to be put in place to prevent this phenomenon from happening, but also says the government should have foreseen the results of the regulations. "The purpose of such measures is not only to maintain economic stability. The effect on society and individual families should also be considered. "