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Charge-the-lover draft is but a rumor

By Jia Xu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-11-09 17:29

The authorities have refuted any existence of a law proposal that those having an affair with a married person could face criminal charges and pay compensation to their lover's spouse, the Dongfang Daily reported on Tuesday.

The rumor of such an proposal spread virally after Monday's marriage law conference in South China's Haikou, which was held by the Marriage Research Institution of China Law Society upon the 60th anniversary of China's enforcement of the Marriage Law.

The institution's chairman Xia Yinlan told the Dongfang Daily: "I had never heard such proposal during the anniversary conference, and even if it did appear, opinions like this are utterly boat-rocking."

Xue, another Marriage Law expert with CLS, said the major theme of this year's conference is how to prevent domestic violence, not the "third one", a Chinese slang for mistress out of wedlock.

Experts said the rumor was fuelled by media reports.

However, an Internet survey by Chinese news portal Sina.com shows 62.3 percent of the respondents supported such an proposal, saying it is morally justifiable to compensate the victims of widespread infidelities in the society.