Why hitched up can mean stitched up

The nuclear family in Hong Kong is under attack. Recent changes to the divorce law make it easier to untie the knot in the territory than most other places.

And the number of people getting married in the first place is falling.

It is not just family welfare workers who are concerned, however. The trend is bad news for the Inland Revenue.

A freelance journalist who had been cohabiting with the father of her children for many years told me why.

The dad was entitled to claim benefits of $30,000, making his tax bill for 1994-95, less than $13,000.

Then they got married. The post-nuptial tax bill was a demand for more than $80,000, partly because his tax status has changed.