A top legislator has suggested exceptions to a controversial clause in the latest draft of China’s civil code that would require divorce-seeking couples to wait for a 30-day “cool-off” period, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
Li Yuefeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said cool-off periods shouldn’t apply to cases involving bigamy, domestic violence, or abandonment, among others, according to the report.
Li’s remark comes amid growing online discussion about the proposed clause in the civil code’s marriage and family section. On microblogging platform Weibo, many users hailed the legislator’s suggestion as “a good signal of considering public opinion,” while some have called the cool-off period unnecessary under any circumstances.
According to an online poll Wednesday by the state-run newspaper People’s Daily, 55% of over 175,200 respondents voted against the proposed cool-off period, while 28% supported it. An overwhelming 95% of users had voted against the clause in a similar poll conducted by the All-China Women’s Federation in August 2018.
(Image: Tuchong)
(Copy URL and open in browser)