Pre-marital check-ups 'should be encouraged'

When Liu Lu got married last winter, she and her husband spent 4,000 yuan ($506) on wedding photos alone but decided to skip pre-marital medical check-ups, which cost about 100 yuan ($12.70).

"I was confident we were healthy enough to get married," the 29-year-old secretary said. "And the check-ups imply you don't trust your 'other half'."

Since a State Council regulation came into force on October 1, 2003, mandatory pre-marital physical check-ups which started in 1992 became voluntary. And Liu is one of millions who have decided to opt out.