Family Law

China Creates Database To Prevent Cheating

By guest-writer

There is a perception among many in China that their increasing wealth is allowing husbands to have multiple mistresses and secret wives. In response, the Chinese government is creating  database of marriage records to give spouses and girlfriends the opportunity to check the marital status of their lover.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the state media of China says that Beijing and Shanghai will be the first places to have this online database, and that the entire country?s marital records should be available by 2015.

Apparently the program is already running somewhat behind the initial timeframe because, according to a statement by the Ministry of Civil Affairs a few years ago, this project should be operational by last year. Chinese officials have not explained the delay in the program.

This is an interesting way for the Chinese government to combat bigamy.

Although bigamy is illegal in China, several prominent members of the Chinese Communist Party have been found guilty of bigamy, including former head of the National Bureau of Statistics, Qiu Xiaohua.

When Qiu was found to be in violation of the anti-bigamy laws, he was expelled from the party in 2007 and described as a, ?vile social and political influence.?

China?s concern for extramarital affairs may be well founded. According to a study done in 2005, nearly 20 percent of married men in urban areas in China admitted to having an affair within the past twelve months. Interestingly, only around 4 percent of married women surveyed admitted to engaging in an affair in the past twelve months.

Furthermore, according to the civil affairs ministry, in 2009 nearly 2.5 million couples divorced in 2009, almost a 9 percent increase from the year before. It is very likely that the Chinese people are aware of these increases, which has prompted the government to act.

Some of these affairs have made their way into the mainstream news in China. A recent case involved a county official from Hubei after he was detained on suspicion of murder. The investigators believe that he killed his mistress, who was pregnant with twins, after she asked him to either marry her or fork over 2 million yuan, or approximately $302,000.

The marriage database does, however, assume that those who get involved with a married man or woman is concerned that he or she is married. If the men and women who engage in these affairs are genuinely concerned that about the relationship status of their lover, then the database has potential to help.

But if these affairs aren?t build on deceiving the mistress, then the database may fail to implement change. If people don?t care that their lover is married, then making it available online may not matter to them.

Full post as published by The Divorce Blog on January 07, 2011 (boomark / email).