 Wang Yuanyuan THE Supreme Court is inviting public opinion on a draft judicial interpretation of the marriage law that have raised a heated debate over property ownership within — and outside — marriage. Some have commented that the revisions would have left men “laughing into their beards while women weep” if the interpretation is adopted. According to the draft, the spouse who paid the down payment on a property will retain that property in the event of a divorce, while the third party in an extramarital affair cannot ask for compensation in cash or property when abandoned by a married man or woman. “As it is a tradition that men buy the house prior to marriage, it means that no matter how much the woman pays following her marriage, she will get nothing but the money she paid for the mortgage after a divorce. It turns the husband into a landlord ... the draft is unfair to all women, both married and unmarried,” one netizen, identified as Luohua, posted on sznews.com. Law professor Lu Ying of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou defines the draft as a document that “exposes common disregard for women’s rights and interests.” She holds that men should take responsibility for their actions. “It defines the basic norms of marriage and family relations and gives no protection to women, who are the more vulnerable party in a marriage, or of women’s rights,” Lu said. “The draft underlines the reality that we still live in a men’s world and that women are potential victims.” | 