Marriage and Divorce in Our Country

　　During the period from 1997 to 2007, the number of marriage decreased from 9.51 million to 8.48 million,while the number of divorce rose from 0.8 million to 1.21 million.

　　We believe that three reasons may account for this phenomenon.

　　First, young people of marriage age are becoming fewer and fewer because of the family planning policy adopted since the late 1970s.

　　Second, the current society is one where fierce competition takes place everywhere,and many young people can’t and won’t get married before they embark on a promising career.

　　Third, today’s people put more and more emphasis on independence and freedom—they won’t get married before they find an ideal partner,and they will not hesitate to say goodbye when the spark of love dies down.

　　The great change, in my mind, signals the fundamental shift in people’s view on family and marriage.

　　This trend will probably continue as contemporary people pay more and more attention to high-quality marriage.