News: Divorce rate up in China.

China View reports today that China’s civil affair department registered an increase in marriages and divorces in 2007. Approximately 1.4 million couples divorced last year, a year on year increase of 18.2 percent, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This rate could be much higher because the Ministry does not report state-sanctioned divorces in the figure. China’s divorce rate has been increasing since 1980. Sociologists attribute the increase to the fast changing society and challenges to traditional concepts of marriage. China’s divorce rate is still far below the US divorce rate of approximately 50%. A new law in 2003 simplified divorce filings and allows for a same day divorce with a filing fee of 10 yuan ($1.36 US).