Violence in the home is rarely discussed publicly in China, making the debate somewhat of a breakthrough in a socially conservative country. It became a hot topic after the divorce of a high profile English teacher Li Yang, who mesmerized millions in China with his Crazy English program, and his American wife Kim Lee. Lee had accused Li of repeatedly beating her, and even posted photos to Sina’s Weibo microblogging service.

Despite being quite high profile at the time, many Chinese people are unclear if domestic violence is morally or legally wrong. The draft legislation makes clear that violence between married couples would not be tolerated. To drive the point home, state-run newspaper Global Times reported it this way:

If you are in a poor mood with which you vent upon your son or wife/husband by beating them, or unintentionally hit them, or if you want to demonstrate your authority within the family by oppressing your child and spouse through economic and mental means, then you are in violation of (this law)!

The bill appears to have hit a bottleneck due to problems on how to define “domestic violence”. Some rights groups claim the definition doesn’t go far enough, and should include couples who live together but aren’t married, as well as same sex couples. They also say domestic violence should include sexual or economic abuse.

Presiding judge Yang Wanming said that domestic violence is on the rise, and is a threat to social harmony. A women’s association in China said in 2005 that about 30 percent of China’s 270 million families experience domestic violence.

Eighty countries have specific anti-domestic violence laws on the books. Until families can be safe and receive the protection they need, victims looking for help in China can always call the China Women’s Hotline at 12338.

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“China and Canada have just reached an agreement issuing visas to each other’s citizens with the validity period of up to 10 years,” said Wang Yi at a press conference at the National People’s Congress, currently being held in Beijing. No further details were made.

The announcement comes on the heels of similar visa agreements China has made with the USA and Australia last year.

Canada had recently cancelled an immigration investment program that was bitterly opposed by Canadians, but has angered Chinese applicants who have announced their intention to sue the Canadian government for rescinding its offer.

Canada and China also seem to have warming ties, as the police forces in both countries are teaming up to fight money laundering and corruption.

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With the National People’s Conference currently underway in Beijing, the nation’s lawmakers have convened to decide which laws will be passed this year. Teng Ge’er, a representative and famous Mongolian singer, thinks it’s well past time to pass a law to protect animals. Teng is proposing the bill “People’s Republic of China Anti-Cruelty Towards Animal Act”, citing a number of news items about the mistreatment of animals to back up his claims the bill is needed. He said the poor treatment of dogs is particularly pervasive.

Teng doesn’t think a civilized society like China should accept cruelty towards animals as a normal practice, arguing the law would be able to help achieve harmony between humans and nature in China. 

As well-intentioned as Teng is with this proposal, others have previously tried to pass anti-cruelty laws to protect animals with no success. As early as 2009, bills were proposed but rejected.

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China is facing a number of economic challenges as it tries to re-balance the economy from export-driven growth to more consumption. China’s growth in recent years has been fueled by a credit boom, which has resulted in high levels of debt.

It was also announced that the country is scaling back its export growth target to 6 percent from 7.5 percent last year. The country hasn’t had much luck hitting the target though, as growth last year was only 4.9 percent, the third straight year it came up short.

China is still expected to create 10 million new jobs this year and keep unemployment below 4.5 percent. Consumer price inflation is also expected to increase by only 3 percent this year.

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