Divorces in China on the rise again despite cooling-off period

It is seen as a 'troublesome' requirement and not a factor that could change minds

- Aw Cheng Wei

CHONGQING - Throughout their eight-year marriage, Ms Judy Zhong and her husband could not see eye to eye on many issues, including whether they should have children.

So, when the 36-year-old factory manager in eastern Anhui province petitioned for a divorce in March 2024, the 30-day cooling-off period mandated by the government did nothing to change her mind.

It simply meant another month during which she continued to avoid her husband, who had moved in with his parents. The one time they saw each other was at the Civil Affairs office, a day after the cooling-off period, to finalize the divorce procedure.

"The only thing I thought about during the 30 days was the freedom I would feel once we annulled our marriage," Ms Zhong, 36, told The Straits Times.

The effectiveness of the cooling-off period required before an uncontested divorce has been called into question as divorces continue to rise following an initial plunge when the measure was put in place on Jan 1, 2021.

The government intervention was intended to curb impulsive decisions, especially with marriages under unprecedented strain during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In China, uncontested divorces are registered at Civil Affairs offices with both husband and wife present, while contested divorces are granted by the courts.

Full-year official data on both contested and uncontested divorces showed that 3.6 million couples finalized their divorces in 2023, up from 2.88 million in 2022 and close to pre-2021 levels.

In 2021, when couples began having to wait 30 days, there were 2.84 million divorces, down from more than four million recorded each year between 2016 and 2020. State media had named the cooling-off period as the primary reason for the decrease in divorces.