Domestic Violence

If this is to be believed, it's pretty grim.: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/05/china-divorce-case-kim-lee-domestic-violence

If this is to be believed, it's pretty grim.: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/05/china-divorce-case-kim-lee-domestic-violence

James did you quote in the wrong topic? What is pretty grim? Getting married in China? I don't really understand what this has to do with the legalities of foreigners getting married in China. I'm really glad Kim Lee won her case though -- Li Yang is total scum.

Fair enough. I guess it's  . It had something to do with foreigners getting married. 

Something got a little funky with the split/merge topic but I think it is all fixed now.

Thanks James! Commence the discussion of DV in China, with or without foreign partners.

I wanted to post this up here because I found it a bit shocking (the prevalence and the view the courts take).

Personally, I know of two people to whom it happened/happens in the UK. Fortunately the judicial system here, is a little more robust.

Nice to see the American woman got justice and that Chinese courts dont always just side with the homeys.

Anybody with an opinion?

I was reading an article somewhere, I think on "Shanghailist" and it said that one reason the case for Kim Lee was settled so quickly and in her favor was because she was a foreigner, she and her ex were highly visible figures and publicly justified his actions by saying it was common in China.


Li's attorney tries to say it is violence if the husband does it for no reason and Li was justified because he had 'issues' with his wife.

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2013-02/04/content_16198523.htm

However, Shi Ziyue, Li Yang's attorney, said he did not agree with the acknowledgement of Li's domestic violence and Lee's filing for the protection order. He said he will discuss with Li whether to appeal the decision to a higher court or not.

"Domestic violence is when a man hits and injures his wife frequently over a long time but has no reason, but my client did that because he had conflicts with his wife," Shi said, adding that the public and media have been biased against Li.

But the judge (a woman) didn't agree.

Judge Liu Li said that under the current law, domestic violence is when a man hits, ties up or threatens his wife, causing her physical or mental harm.

She said Li's behavior caused injuries to Lee's head and leg and influenced the court's verdict.

"Each family is a cell of a stable society. Couples should not harm each other. Instead, they should be harmonious and peaceful," she added.

A few years back, I interviewed a victim named Sun Xueqing, from Hangzhou. Her husband Mo Wenhui received a six-month jail sentence for throwing her from a balcony. Her spine was broken. Her lawyer explained : "My personal guess is that the court saw it as a family dispute. He wouldn't have gotten away with it so easily if he had thrown a woman other than his wife from the second floor."

 

I'm so sorry the last statement is so twisted, it makes me cringe. So, I guess the prevailing wisdom is that women are still property then, right? Because that's what I'm reading between the lines.

Some argue that domestic violence appears to be on the rise in China only because more women are speaking out against it. Wu Changzhen from China University, professor of political science and law and a leading expert on women's issues, believes otherwise. She argues that the increasing economic pressure put on Chinese citizens, and the loosening of family ties, leave women more vulnerable to their husband's violent impulses.

Also, I'd like to add, that women who grew up with abuse fathers have a tendency to marry abusive men. Well, that and family pressure to get married once you reach a certain age often results in bad partner choices. Being divorced in America carries enough stigma, but here in the Middle Kingdom, it's a double whammy - divorced and childless.

I have a friend who is in her early thirties, never met a guy, has yet to get married. The way her relatives treat her is abusive. They even attack her mom for not pressuring her to get married to the first guy that shows interest in her. I told her not to let it get in her head and to keep her contact with them limited. It's tough being Chinese. The family pressure is so strong.