The policy was scrapped in 2016 and married couples were allowed to have two children. In recent years, the Chinese government also offered tax breaks and better maternal healthcare, among other incentives, to reverse or at least slow the falling birth rate. BBC
The Vietnam Communist Party’s anti-corruption drive may claim the jobs of more senior members this week on the back of this month’s removal of two deputy prime ministers. The National Assembly will hold a rare extraordinary meeting Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency. It cited three anonymous sources “familiar with government and parliament affairs,” who said the legislature may approve the “resignations” of more senior officials. On Dec. 30 RFA reported that the Communist Party had removed Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam from its Central Committee. Six…
The Chinese economy stumbled in 2022, numbers released Tuesday show, in one of its worst performances in decades as growth was dragged down by numerous Covid lockdowns followed by a deadly outbreak in December that swept across the country with remarkable speed. China grew 3 percent for the year — less than half what it was in 2021 and far short of Beijing’s target of 5.5 percent. Other than 2020, it was the most disappointing showing since 1976, the year after the death of Mao Zedong when the economy declined…
China’s GDP expanded at its slowest pace since the mid-1970s bar the Covid-hit 2020 year, as the world’s second-largest economy struggled under tight pandemic restrictions that were abruptly ditched late in 2022. The economy grew 3% last year, well shy of the 5.5% pace the government had targeted at the start of the year and the 8.1% recorded for 2021. The actual rate though, was better than the 2.7% predicted by the World Bank earlier this month. Analysts will focus on the December quarter growth tally of 2.9%, which exceeded…
In early December with protests growing and coronavirus spreading, China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy, in effect letting the virus run through its population of 1.4 billion people. As Tania Branigan tells Michael Safi the effects have been extraordinary: in a country not well vaccinated and with limited numbers of ICU beds, especially away from large cities, it has been devastating. At the weekend, authorities admitted that at least 60,000 people had died in hospitals in the current wave so far, but experts believe the true number of total deaths…
China’s population fell last year for the first time since 1961, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of population decline. The country had 1.41175 billion people at the end of 2022, compared with 1.41260 billion a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said. Last year’s birthrate was 6.77 births per 1,000 people, down from a rate of 7.52 births in 2021 and marking the lowest birthrate on record. China also logged its highest death rate since 1976, registering 7.37 deaths per…
The world’s most populous country has reached a pivotal moment: China’s population has begun to shrink, after a steady, yearslong decline in its birthrate that experts say will be irreversible. The government said on Tuesday that 9.56 million people were born in China in 2022, while 10.41 million people died. It was the first time deaths had outnumbered births in China since the early 1960s, when the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s failed economic experiment, led to widespread famine and death. Births were down from 10.6 million in 2021, the…
China’s population includes 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as servicemen, but excludes foreigners. It does not include Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. “China’s population declined the first time since 1961,” noted Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “The population will likely trend down from here in the coming years. This is very important, with implications for potential growth and domestic demand.” Advertisement High child-rearing costs, the new generation’s shifting ideologies on family and marriages, as well as the slowing economic growth amid China’s draconian coronavirus…
He came to the United States at 17 on a cultural exchange visa and later applied for, and was granted, political asylum, court filings show. He joined the Marines in 2009, spent seven months in Afghanistan, became a U.S. citizen in 2010, was honorably discharged in 2014 and then enlisted in the Army reserves, court records show. In 2016, Officer Angwang joined the Police Department, where he was a patrol officer and, at the time of his arrest in September 2020, a community affairs officer with the 111th Precinct in…
BANGKOK — Companies from at least 13 countries have helped Myanmar build up its capacity to produce weapons that are being used to commit atrocities following a 2021 military takeover, independent international experts have found. The report released Monday by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar details how the country has stepped up arms production since the army seized power Feb. 1, 2021, igniting a mass public opposition movement. The army’s takeover from elected civilian leaders reversed nearly a decade of progress toward democracy after 50 years of military rule.…