Third party According to the draft, if a relationship with the third party in an extramarital triangle founders, the man or woman can reclaim in a court of law any property or cash compensation given or agreed upon to the third party prior to the break-up. As family lawyer and psychological researcher Xie Youlin of Guangdong Tiansheng Law Firm confirms, the draft protects only formally married spouses. Netizens have named this provision “the other woman’s doom.” Some express sympathy for the third party in an extramarital triangle. “Although other women (other women being the most common culprit in extramarital relationship) do inflict harm on certain marriages and families, they are totally subordinate in extramarital sexual relationships and do not possess the power to imperil family stability. The other woman gets a raw deal, bearing in mind she might spend the best years of her life satisfying the sexual desires of a married man only to be cast aside with nothing,” one netizen, identified as Monkey Fishes, said in his blog. Although most netizens showed no sympathy for the third party in extramarital relationships, they thought the regulations encouraged men to have affairs. “In the past, many rich married men had affairs with young girls, giving them money and other things. Now this can benefit more men as they have nothing to lose in the relationship. So the mistress cries and the wife gets hurt, but the one who caused the tragedy can turn his attention to another woman,” Wu said. | 