‘We cannot even divorce freely?’ Furious Chinese blast their leaders as Beijing demands all divorcing couples complete a 30-day ‘cooling-off’ period

• China passed a new law to enforce a ‘cooling-off period’ on divorcing couples
• Officials hope the act can prevent married partners from splitting ‘impulsively’
• It is part of China’s first ever Civil Code which will come into effect from 2021 
• The rule sparked outrage online over state interference in people’s private life

Outraged Chinese citizens have slammed the central government for interfering in people’s private life after Beijing lawmakers today passed a new law that forces all divorcing couples to complete a ’30-day cooling-off period’. 

Married couples who wish to break up must wait for a month before their request can be officially approved, the rule requires.

Officials believe that the new legislation would curb China’s rapidly growing divorce rates and prevent ‘reckless divorces’ as the country saw tens of thousands flocking to separate following coronavirus lockdown.

The bill was first proposed in 2018 after the divorce rate in the country had been increasing for the past few years. A couple poses during a photo shoot in front of the Lama Temple in Beijing

The rule is part of China’s first ever Civil Code, which will come into effect on January 1, 2021. A couple wearing face masks are pictured visiting the promenade on the Bund along the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai during China’s Labour Day holiday on May 1

The Civil Code – passed during China’s annual rubber-stamp parliamentary meetings – is a sweeping piece of legislation that will replace existing laws on marriage, adoption and property rights among others. The picture shows a couple sitting at a park in Guangzhou

After the bill was passed, the law became one of the top trending topics on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo – with over 25 million views of posts using the hashtag ‘oppose the divorce cool-off period’.

‘We cannot even divorce freely?’ wrote one user. ‘There must still be a lot of people who marry impulsively, they should set a cooling off period for getting married as well!’ 

‘They passed the divorce cooling off period despite everyone’s opposition online, which means their respect for public opinion is just for show,’ added another commentator.

The cooling-off period will not apply if one spouse is seeking divorce following domestic violence. 

The rule is part of China’s first ever Civil Code, which will come into effect on January 1, 2021. 

The Civil Code – passed during China’s annual rubber-stamp parliamentary meetings – is a sweeping piece of legislation that will replace existing laws on marriage, adoption and property rights among others.  

The new ‘cooling off’ period for divorces in China is one of the top trending topics on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo. Pictured, a Chinese couple look out from a river bank together

Divorce rate has increased steadily since 2003, when marriage laws were liberalised and as more women become financially independent, but they also led to an increasingly common phenomenon, ‘reckless divorces’. A newly-wed couple is pictured  at a church in China

The bill was first proposed in 2018 after the divorce rate in the country had been increasing for the past few years. The growth continued to spike after the coronavirus lockdown, Chinese media report.

China’s divorce rate has increased steadily since 2003, when marriage laws were liberalised and as more women become financially independent. 

But the previous legislations also led to ‘reckless divorces’ becoming an increasingly common phenomenon not conducive to family stability, an official told China Women’s Daily recently.

Last year some 4.15 million Chinese couples untied the knot – up from 1.3 million in 2003, when couples were first allowed to divorce by mutual consent without going to court.

Before then, divorce had to be obtained by one spouse suing another in court.

Other new laws include expanding the definition of sexual harassment, new protections against land grabs, and measures to allow people to donate the organs of dead relatives.

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