Damaging Divorce? An A nalysis of China’s “Cooling Off” Period

Absztrakt (kivonat)

On 1st January of 2021, a new law in China called divorce’s “ cooling off ” period was enacted. The law requires couples who are mutually seeking a divorce to wait for 30 days before formalizing it. If the couple doesn’t show up for two appointments between 30 and 60 days after applying, their applications are automatically canc elled. The thesis aims to reveal on the one hand, how this new law impacts Chinese people and on the other hand, how the Chinese media covered the issue. The topic was chosen because its reception was highly controversial. Critics highlighted that “coolin g off” periods should not apply to divorces involving domestic violence, but some cases of violence or murder have raised questions about this reality in practice. The “cooling off” period announcement sparked outrage at the time, particularly among women, and led young people to suggest they are now more likely to avoid marriage altogether. My main research question aims to uncover how the “cooling off” law affects the Chinese youth, more specifically, the members of Generation Z. I also offer some insight into the Chinese media’s representation of the law. For the purposes of the outlined research, I conducted an online survey to examine Chinese youth’s perception of the law and its media representation. The overall goal of the thesis is to better underst and how the divorce’s “cooling off” period affects people’s life and raise awareness about its controversial aspects.