From the Washington Post:

Divorce, once nearly unheard of in China, has become more common than ever as women such as Wu gain financial independence and shrug off the diminishing stigma of leaving their husbands. Legal barriers to divorce have fallen away — couples needed permission from their employers until just four years ago — and the Internet has become a resource for discontented spouses seeking guidance.

More broadly, experts say, the increase in divorce points to an embrace of individualism in this country, which in many ways remains only nominally communist. [Full text]