Recently, the divorce of Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse has been a subject of intense public discussion. Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung registered their marriage in the Philippines in 2006. According to Philippine law, divorce is not permitted locally (only "legal separation" is allowed). Due to the disadvantages caused by the prohibition of divorce, the "Committee on Revision of Laws" of the Philippine Congress stated on May 30 that it would officially launch a debate on the "Philippine Divorce Bill" on June 1. Irreconcilable differences, failure to fulfill marital obligations, and other factors may become grounds for Philippine couples to file for divorce in the future.
The Philippines is one of only two countries in the world where divorce is not allowed. The ban on divorce has caused serious social and family problems in the Philippines. On one hand, due to the lack of protection through divorce, women have become the primary victims of domestic violence. According to statistics from the Philippine National Police, "wife beating" accounted for 72% of all violence against women in 2009. On the other hand, because legal divorce is not possible, a significant number of Philippine families have long existed in dysfunctional states, where extra-marital unions without legal status are common, leading to numerous civil disputes regarding child custody and inheritance distribution. Prominent female Senator Loren Legarda, who ran for Vice President in 2010, has long been officially separated from her husband but has struggled to escape the constraints of this marriage. Such examples have led many Filipinos to fear marriage and choose to remain single; the current President, Benigno Aquino III, remains a bachelor to this day.
Doubt: Can Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung really not get a divorce?
Even if the relationship between Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung has reached its end, will they definitely be unable to divorce? It is understood that although the Philippines does not have a divorce law and only allows applications for the annulment of marriage, there are 6 grounds for such an application: either party was under 21 years old and did not obtain parental consent; either party is mentally incapacitated; fraud was used to obtain the marriage; force or intimidation was used to obtain the marriage; either party is physically incapable of consummating the marriage; or either party has a sexually transmitted disease. In this light, although Cecilia Cheung was alleged by entertainment reporter Cha Siu-yan to have used her sons as leverage to demand assets from the Tse family, this does not meet any of the aforementioned grounds for marriage annulment.
On the other hand, lawyers have recently suggested that although Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung registered their marriage in the Philippines, they are domiciled in Hong Kong, China, and Hong Kong courts have jurisdiction over their marital status. Media outlets interviewed Margaret Ho, a renowned divorce lawyer in Hong Kong, yesterday, who holds the same view. She stated that since both Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung are Hong Kong, China residents, and although they were married in the Philippines, the Hong Kong courts recognize their valid marriage but this does not mean they must adhere to the Philippine marriage law's prohibition on divorce. The two can file for divorce in accordance with Hong Kong marriage law.
