Property policy leads to divorce boom in SW China

GUIYANG, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A property policy issued by a district government in southwest China's Guizhou Province has led to a divorce boom among local villagers.

The number of couples filing for divorce each day in Yunyan District, Guiyang City, capital of Guizhou, has increased five-fold since a property policy went into effect in October.

The policy stipulates that a local household can apply for land area of no more than 130 square meters and a total floor area not exceeding 240 square meters for housing construction.

The policy is part of local authorities' attempts to curb rampant illegal housing construction, but it has resulted in a marked increase in the divorce rate.

However, many newly-divorced couples will remarry their original spouse later, as the scheme is meant to double the property area they can own.

Newlyweds and even couples in their 90s have jumped on the divorce bandwagon to take advantage of the policy loophole, forcing the district government to open more office windows to handle waves of applications.

A just-divorced couple said they did not really want to divorce.

"Our marriage is fine, but divorce is the only way to get the extra property. We cannot find a better way," they said.

The situation in Yunyan has aroused concern among netizens, who are leaving thousands of comments on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblogging service.