Divorce Rate in Lhasa Remains HighThe divorce rate in this capital of Tibet has remained above 20 percent since 1995.¡°The rate is probably the highest in China,¡± said Zhu Yalin, deputy director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Chengguan District of Lhasa. In 2000, the Marriage Registration Office of Chengguan District accepted marriage registration for 1,052 couples and 347 applications for divorce. Old people constitute the lion's share of divorced people. With the life of less love and more responsibility for their children and families, they choose to divorce after their children grow up, in hopes of finding happiness in their late years. The reason for divorces of middle-aged and young couples mainly lies in the husband beating the wife after drunk, playing mahjong till midnight and indulging in nightclubs, in total disregard of their families. People usually think that different customs of different people in the same family will cause familial discord, Zhu said. ¡°But in fact this is wrong,¡± he said. Every year ten-plus couples of the Tibetan and the Han ethnic groups come to the Marriage Registration Office of Chengguan District for marriage registration. He said, ¡°After a long time of observation, we find that their marriages are relatively stable.¡± |
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