More than half of Chinese people think sex before marriage acceptable。

More than half of Chinese people think sex before marriage is acceptable, but a third say the partners must be in love, the Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday, citing results of a recent poll。

A survey, initiated by the Renmin University of China, collected 5,951 responses from people of different age groups, professions and education in 10 provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai。

The results showed 32.7 percent said premarital sex should not be condemned as long as the couple loved each other, while almost 29 percent regarded premarital sex as a private matter。

While 12.8 percent said premarital sex was immoral, they also said it was understandable。

"Only 15.26 percent said premarital sex was immoral and should be firmly opposed, and less than 7 percent in the 20 to 29 age group believed premarital sex was immoral," Xinhua said。

Wanyan Hua, a doctoral candidate at Renmin University, said young Chinese were more open towards premarital sex than previous generations。

"But over-indulgence in sex will not only harm young people, but also weaken the concept of marriage and family," she warned。

Chinese attitudes towards sex have relaxed in recent decades, triggering a boom in extramarital relationships

(Reuters)

本周二，新华社在报道中援引近期的一项调查结果称，中国有一半以上的人认为婚前性行为可以接受，而三分之一的人则认为两个人必须相爱才行。

此项由中国人民大学[微博]发起的调查在北京、上海等10个省和直辖市开展，共收集了5951份不同年龄段、不同职业和不同教育背景的人的回馈。

调查显示，39.7%的调查对象认为只要双方相爱，婚前性行为无可厚非，而29%的人则认为婚前性行为是个人的私事。

12.8%的人认为婚前性行为不道德，但可以理解。

新华社报道说：“仅有15.26%的人认为婚前性行为不道德，应该坚决反对;在20岁至29岁的调查对象中，不到7%的人认为这一行为不道德。”

人民大学博士研究生完颜华说，中国的年轻一代对于婚前性行为的态度比过去几代人开放得多。

她说：“但过份沉溺于性不仅会对年轻人造成伤害，而且会削弱婚姻和家庭的观念。”

近几十年来，中国人对于性的态度开放了很多，这也造成了婚外恋现象的增长。