New Marriage Law Leaves the Other Woman Out in the ColdThe Supreme Courts recently published Draft Explanation of Certain Problems in the PRC Marriage Law (III) addresses the matter of financial and property agreements with the other woman/man in extramarital triangles.NoNo CompoCompoThe second provision of the Draft stipulates: if a legally married spouse comes to an agreement with a third party during the time they are cohabitating on property compensation, and the relationship later ends, the court will support neither the third partys demand for compensation nor the legally married partys reclaim of such compensation. But if the party/parties in a formal marriage sue the third party for infringements of the couples joint property, the court shall accept claims from the married party/parties for return of this compensation and deal with it according to specific cases.Guangzhou DailyIn other words, if the relationship between the other woman/man and married party in an extramarital triangle founders, the latter can reclaim in a court of law any property or cash compensation given or agreed upon with the other woman/man prior to the break-up.As marriage and family lawyer and psychological researcher Xie Youlin of the Guangdong Tiansheng Law Firm confirms, the new marriage law protects only formally married spouses. Any agreement on cash or property compensation that the other woman/man and their married partner might have made prior to separating can be rescinded in a court of law.The way the court handles such cases depends both on the circumstances and the proportion of the reclaimed amount. As different verdicts might be reached on similar cases, the Supreme Court is to formulate standard practices in such cases.CaseCase inin PointPoint A man surnamed Wang bought his co-worker Xiaojuan properties and a car during the five years they cohabited. When Xiaojuan realized Wang had no intention of marrying her, she demanded of him the sum of one million yuan, which Wang refused. Meanwhile, Wangs wife Ali found out about her husbands affair and that he had had spent a total 2.6 million yuan on buying Xiaojuan three properties and a car which were registered under both Wang and Xiaojuans name. When Wang and Xiaojuan fell out, he and his wife jointly sued Xiaojuan for the return of these properties. The court ruled in Wang and his wifes favor.ToughTough LoveLoveNetizens have named this provision the other womans doom.Some express sympathy for the third party in an extramarital triangle. A netizen calling himself Monkey Fishes for the Moon points out in his blog that although other women (other women being the most common culprit in extramarital relationships) indeed inflict harm on certain marriages and families, they are totally subordinate in extramarital sexual relationships and do not possess the power to imperil family stability.He also points the raw deal the other woman gets, bearing in mind she might spend the best years of her life satisfying the sexual desires of a married man only to be cast aside with nothing.Counselor in marriage law of the Academic Association of Guangdong Law Society Professor Lu Ying of Sun Yat-Sen University concurs. This is a view, she says, with which many experts at the recent Annual China Law Society Marriage Law Seminar 2010 and 60th Anniversary of the Marriage Law Conference in Haikou, Hainan Province, agree.“This is just a draft and likely to be amended because much of its content does not take into account Chinas reality and goes against the principle of our Constitution and Marriage Law,“ Lu said.The lay view, however, is that the other woman/man in an extramarital triangle does imperil the legal rights and interests of married couples. “This judicial interpretation acts as a warning to other women/men and also to married couples to abide by the principle of monogamy upon which our Marriage Law is based,“ Lu said.MenMen TakeTake CareCare ofof MenMenLu defines the draft as a document that “exposes common disregard for womens rights and interests.“She holds that men should take responsibility for their actions.“The Marriage Law defines the basic norms of marriage and family relations and gives no protection to women, who are the more vulnerable party in a marriage, or of womens rights,“ Lu said, adding “The draft underlines the reality that we still live in a mens world and that women are potential victims.“The general on-line consensus on the draft - that men are laughing in their beards while women weep - backs up Lus views. Men are the clear winners under this scenario wherein extramarital girlfriends stand to get dumped and left with nothing, and wives too if their husbands tire or them and decide to divorce.TheThe RightRight FocusFocusAn anonymous netizen has the last word. “I think we should focus on making our marriages happier and reducing the divorce rate, rather than on the