DNA tests challenge fidelity among Chinese couples

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 30, 2004

DNA tests challenge fidelity among Chinese couples

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A wife bursts into tears while her guilty husband apologizes, or a husband reacts in rage becauseof his wife's infidelity - this is usually the scene outside paternity testing centers in China, which appears to have more suspicious husbands than ever before.

In the first month of 2004, the paternity testing center in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province, received nearly20 families requiring DNA checks, which was almost a two-month-workload last year.

Shanghai Blood Center, an agency providing individual paternitytesting since 2002, claimed to have received more than 300 test requests last year.

"A man brought his one-year-old child here for testing, and appeared to be quite nervous, explaining that his wife was unawareof his actions," said Zhang Gongliang, the director of the center.

However, according to the center, no more than 20 percent of the children were proved to be illegitimate, which means at least 80 percent of these children's mothers were wrongly treated, and 100 percent of them felt humiliated by their spouses' suspicions.

"Increasing numbers of people taking the test suggests that social views on women's status and rights is still confined to bearing babies," Cheng Fang, a secretary in a real estate enterprise said. "Marriage without trust doomed to failure."

Tao Chunfang, vice-president of the Shanghai Marriage and Family Research Union thinks the test is unfair to women, because there is no such a technique to exam men's fidelity.

Why are Chinese husbands so sensitive? Chinese lawyer Li Dun attributed it to traditional ideas requiring chastity and completeloyalty from women. Especially after China applied the one-child policy, a child found to be illegitimate may bring disastrous consequences.

"The test should be treated with prudence, because it may lead to divorce in the end. And children will be the victims of the waning loyalty to marriage," said Qu Changzhen, professor with China University of Politics and Law.

"There should be restrictions set for paternity testing, which is conducted just to test one's fantasy suspicions while ignoring the soul destroying effects to others." Qu said.

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