Do couples who feel imprisoned by wedlock and who yearn to recover their "freedom" get what they want? A recent report shows that about 70 percent of divorced Chinese couples regret their decision to divorce.

 

The findings -- which contrast with data from Western countries where attitudes to divorce and divorcees are more tolerant -- reflect a traditionally negative attitude to divorce in China.

 

The report, released by the Beijing Municipal Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy, cited figures of more than 400 divorce lawsuits from 50 cities nationwide.

 

It claimed that an increasing number of divorced couples choose to repair their original marriage but gave no figures for "repaired marriages".

 

"Marriage counseling should be provided to both teenagers and adults, offering instruction about dealing with marital problems so as to maintain a harmonious family," said the report, suggesting that classes about marriage should be open to college and middle school students.

 

Lawyer Ke Zhi, founder of China's first divorce website which offers legal assistance to parted couples, said that in about 60 percent of the failed marriages he has dealt, "excessive emotional reactions" were the reason for the divorce. These excessive reactions explained why so many divorced couples soon regretted their actions, he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2007)