In a bid to avoid the pain of ending a relationship,some Chinese have now reportedly resorted to a unique way of breaking-up - outsourcing the responsibility to a middleman. At least 40 such 'break-up agents' now advertise their skills in gently splitting couples on Taobao,China's answer to Ebay,'The Daily Telegraph' online reported. Get rid of a difficult partner!" advertises one agent. "Keep damage to a minimum, assures another. For roughly 300 yuan,the equivalent of around 30 pounds,the relationship killers offer everything from a soft let-down by phone or an email to an active attempt to drive a wedge between lovers. And,for those customers who opt for a "platinum" service,an agent will show up in person,perhaps with a small gift to ease the pain. One agent,based in Zhejiang province,said he had helped around 10 couples end their romance. We have a 100 per cent success rate or your money back, he said. In some cases,he added that he had managed to apply some small techniques to create misunderstanding,or conflict,between a couple and just let that seed grow slowly and naturally until there was a voluntary break-up on both sides, The agent said this was a 20-day package: We create the conflict in 10 days,propose a break-up in 15 and complete the deal in 20. Some people say I have no morals but I don't think this is a moral issue. I am not using any dirty tactics and this is just business. For the broken-hearted,there is consolation elsewhere on the Chinese internet,in the shape of websites such as Kaixin Fenshou Wang,or Happy Break-up,which offer forums for up to 1,000 users at any one time to share their misery.
