China to Post Marriage Records to Snag Cheaters

One byproduct of the rising standard of living in China has been an explosion of infidelity—more than a few businessmen have secret mistresses and even second wives. To clamp down on the trend, the government plans to post marriage records online so people can check on suspected cheaters. Databases should be up in Beijing this year and across the country by 2015, the AP reports.

Chinese citizens can move between provinces and cities with greater ease than ever before, meaning an ever-growing pool of potential romantic connections in what one academic calls the "strangers' society." According to one study, 20% of urban men and 3.9% of women admitted having an affair in the past 12 months.
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