China's new proposed law will make it easier to get married and nearly impossible to divorce after the number of people getting married fell by 498,000 last year

The Chinese government has proposed a new law that would make it easier to register marriages but harder to get a divorce. The Ministry of Civil Affairs recently released a new version of this law and is allowing people to share their opinions on the proposal until September 11.

The government aims to create a “family-friendly society” as officials look for ways to encourage young couples to marry and have children. This comes after China’s population decreased over the last two years, with a drop of 2.08 million in the past year and 850,000 in 2022.

The proposed law includes a 30-day "cooling-off" period for divorce. This means that if either person has second thoughts, they can cancel their divorce request during this time.

The proposal has sparked a lot of discussion on social media. One user on Weibo said, "It's easy to get married, but hard to divorce. What a stupid rule," which received tens of thousands of likes.

The change aims to highlight the importance of marriage and family, according to Jiang Quanbao, a professor at Jiaotong University. He also mentioned that it is meant to reduce impulsive divorces and help protect the rights of everyone involved.

Data shows that the number of couples getting married in the first half of 2024 fell by 498,000 compared to the previous year, reaching the lowest levels since 2013. In China, marriage is often seen as necessary for having children, and parents usually need to provide proof of marriage to register a baby and receive government support.

Many young people in China are choosing to stay single or delay marriage due to concerns about job security and other economic issues.