In particular, the practice of taking a mistress has been on the rise in recent years, said Hu Kangsheng, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission under the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

From 1996 to 1998, statistics from the Guangdong Provincial Women's Federation show 219, 235 and 348 angry wives registered complaints.

"Illicit concubinage is posing a serious threat to China's statutory rule of monogamy," Hu said.

The popular practice "Bao Er Nai," which literally means "keeping a second wife" in Cantonese, refers to providing financial and material support to a mistress. Some mistresses are kept under pretense of being maids or secretaries.

People from various social strata have become involved in extra-marital affairs, ranging from overseas businessmen, heads of enterprises, corporate managers, and even some Party and government officials, according to officials from South China's Guangdong Province.

The alarming trend has led to the breakdown of family values and even murder, posing a threat to social stability, Hu noted.

"It has also disrupted the implementation of the State's family planning policy," he said.

Bigamy is prohibited by law in China. But, Hu said, since bigamists don't tend to broadcast their double-life, it is not easy to gather evidence necessary to convict them.

Some legal experts have suggested that China amend its marriage laws to better protect spousal rights. Others think marriage laws should mandate fidelity and cohabitation between spouses.

Whether marital fidelity should be put under legal control or just moral surveillance engaged in by the government remains a controversial topic in China.

(People’s Daily)