Divorces in China Drop 72% After 'Cool-off' Law Introduced

The number of divorces in China has dropped by 72% since the country introduced a month-long "cooling-off" period for couples who decide to end their marriage.

In the last three months of 2020, 1.06 million couples in China divorced, according to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. In the first three months of 2021, that number was only 296,000.

The drop is thanks to a new law requiring couples to wait 30 days after they first apply for a divorce. When that period ends, they must apply again, or their application will get canceled.

The law came into effect on January 1, 2021 and is aimed at reducing divorce rates across the country. Chinese officials said they hope that the cooling-off period will stop "impulsive" divorces.

When the law was first announced in 2020, it became one of the most talked about topics on Chinese social media.

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

Couples who went through the month-long waiting period have reported different experiences. While some said it helped them save their marriage, others described it as "30 days of hell."

China, however, is not the only country to make people wait before allowing them to get a divorce. France and the UK already have similar laws, as do many states in the US.

Questions

1.How many couples in China divorced during the first three months of 2021?

2.When did China's new divorce law come into effect?

3.What other countries require couples to wait before allowing them to divorce?

出处：见配图水印