The short article below needs little or no comment; so I shan't say much other than "Ya gotta love this country!" And of course I do, and not at all for reasons relevant to the phenomenon reported below--it was, in fact, news to me.
Twenty-three percent of Chinese believe it is all right to have an affair, especially one in which "nobody gets hurt", according to the survey released by Euro RSCG, a marketing communications agency.
The company asked people in five countries and said only 11 percent of Britons and nine percent of Americans approved of affairs.
Euro RSCG said the French and German samples were close to the Chinese level.
In all countries except Britain, more men than women would allow affairs.
In China, it was 27 percent of men against 14 percent of women, Germany 28 percent to 16, and in the United States, 13 percent of men against four percent of women.
But among Britons, 11 percent of both sexes said an affair was OK.
Only France came close, with 20 percent of men and 17 percent of women agreeing.
Despite their liberal attitude, Chinese are also more likely to believe monogamy is the best way: 70 percent of them agree, compared with 57 percent of Americans but only 44 percent in France, 42 percent in Britain and 40 percent in Germany.
The Chinese are also the least likely to consider it normal for somebody aged about 30 to have had 10 or more different lovers during his or her single years.
Just 17 percent of Chinese agreed, compared with 30 percent of French, 49 percent of Americans, 52 percent of Germans, and 59 percent of British.
Euro RSCG said its Prosumer Pulse 2004 survey asked 1,982 Americans, 2,127 British, 2,000 French, 3,158 Germans, and 2,079 Chinese about attitudes to sex, finance, technology and commerce.
The survey also delved into how much religion affects sexual behaviour.
Thirty-nine percent of Americans said it did. But only three percent of French agreed.
In between there was Britain on 16 percent, China on 15 percent and Germany on six percent.
