Second wives

A Shenzhen court last week jailed an unemployed Hong Kong man for a year for having a second wife, the first such case in a city that is known for its concubine villages since China's Marriage Law was amended this year to make bigamy an offence.

Mainland media reported the sentence briefly and registered that it was the first case tried under new provisions of the law. The Hong Kong media also gave it run-of-the-mill treatment. But why has there only been one case when it is common knowledge that many Hong Kong and Taiwan men keep mistresses in areas of Shenzhen that have become known as concubine villages?

While living with someone other than a spouse is not considered bigamy, the law sees cohabitation as a violation in itself. Experts say there have not been more cases because wives do not know their husbands are cheating, they know but do not have evidence to bring the man to court, or they have the evidence but still love their husbands.

The Marriage Law is a weapon to be used when marital relations are affected, but nothing can be done if the parties involved choose to give up their rights.

If newspapers play down the issue, or women are not queuing up to get a judge to throw their husbands in jail, it does not mean society has accepted the keeping of a mistress.

Most people in Guangdong are firmly opposed to the habit, condemning both men and women in such relations. But this is a problem of Chinese culture, which traditionally allowed men to have more than one wife. It is also a problem of the rich-poor divide. Lured by Shenzhen's success story, Chinese flocked to the city seeking riches. Many found jobs and some - poor young women - found men who have the means to keep them.