Halting At the Altar

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It's not exactly Las Vegas, but divorce rates in Taiwan are among the highest in Asia, with one in three marriages ending before death does it part. In response, concerned lawmakers passed a "family education bill" that requires couples to take a four-hour family management course before tying the knot.

The class will instruct nuptial novices on the practical matters of married life, such as child rearing and budgeting. But some women's-rights activists say the measure will do little to reduce splittist behavior. Sociology professor Ku Chung-hwa says marriages are on the rocks because women are no longer willing to be the junior partner. "Taiwanese women nowadays enjoy higher autonomy, and such individualism and feminism is in conflict with the traditional family structure." Huang Chang-ling, vice president of the feminist Awakening Foundation, argues that the class should put more emphasis on gender equality, "otherwise it'll be meaningless." Couples needing a model of marital longevity, however, need look no further than their compatriots Liu Yung-yang and Yang Wan, whose 85-year union makes them the world's longest-married couple. Their granddaughter-in-law says, "(They) hardly had a quarrel with each other, keeping a very intimate relationship." Whatever their secret, too few of their countrymen are in on it.