BEIJING: China’s population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades, official data showed Tuesday, as the world’s most populous country faces a looming demographic crisis.
The nation of 1.4 billion has seen birth rates plunge to record lows as its workforce ages, in a rapid decline that analysts warn could stymie economic growth and pile pressure on strained public coffers.
The mainland Chinese population stood at around 1,411,750,000 at the end of 2022, Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported, a decrease of 850,000 from the end of the previous year.
The number of births was 9.56 million, the NBS said, while the number of deaths stood at 10.41 million.
The last time China’s population declined was in the early 1960s, as the country battled the worst famine in its modern history, a result of the disastrous Mao Zedong agricultural policy known as the Great Leap Forward.
China ended its strict one-child policy — imposed in the 1980s owing to fears of overpopulation — in 2016 and began allowing couples to have three children in 2021.
But that has failed to reverse the demographic decline for a country that has long relied on its vast workforce as a driver of economic growth.
“The population will likely trend down from here in coming years,” Zhiwei Zhang of Pinpoint Asset Management said.
“China cannot rely on the demographic dividend as a structural driver for economic growth,” he added.
“Economic growth will have to depend more on productivity growth, which is driven by government policies.”
News of the population decline quickly trended on China’s heavily censored Internet, with some expressing fears for the country’s future.
“Without children, the state and the nation have no future,” one comment on the Twitter-like Weibo service read.
“Having children is also a social responsibility,” another comment from a well-known “patriotic” influencer read.
But others pointed to the soaring cost of living and the difficulties of raising children in modern China.
“I love my mother, I will not be a mother,” said one.
“No one reflects on why we do not want to have (children) and do not want to get married,” another said.
Many local authorities have already launched measures to encourage couples to have children.
The southern megacity of Shenzhen, for example, now offers a birth bonus and pays allowances until the child is three years old.
A couple who has their first baby automatically receives 3,000 yuan ($444), an amount that rises to 10,000 yuan for their third.
In the country’s east, the city of Jinan has since January 1 paid a monthly stipend of 600 yuan for couples that have a second child.
Chinese people are “getting used to the small family because of the decades-long one-child policy,” Xiujian Peng, a researcher at Australia’s University of Victoria, told AFP.
“The Chinese government has to find effective policies to encourage birth, otherwise, fertility will slip even lower,” she added.
And analysts argue much more needs to be done.
“A comprehensive policy package that covers childbirth, parenting, and education is needed to reduce the cost of childraising,” researcher Peng told AFP.
“Women’s job insecurity after giving birth should be addressed particularly.”
Independent demographer He Yafu also pointed to “the decline in the number of women of childbearing age, which fell by five million per year between 2016 and 2021” — a consequence of the aging of the population.
The Chinese population could decline each year by 1.1 percent on average, according to a study by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences updated last year and shared with AFP.
China could have only 587 million inhabitants in 2100, less than half of today, according to the most pessimistic projections of that team of demographers.
And India is set to dethrone China this year as the most populous country in the world, according to the United Nations.
“A declining and aging population will be a real concern for China,” Peng said.
“It will have a profound impact on China’s economy from the present through to 2100.”
China’s population shrinks for first time in over 60 years
https://arab.news/cmq3x
China’s population shrinks for first time in over 60 years
- The nation of 1.4 billion has seen birth rates plunge to record lows as workforce ages
- The last time China’s population declined was in the early 1960s
Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan: Taliban spokesman
- Border tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021
KABUL: Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border province of Afghanistan killed 46 people, the Taliban government spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.
“Last night (Tuesday), Pakistan bombarded four points in the Barmal district of Paktika province. The total number of dead is 46, most of whom were children and women,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
He added that six more people were wounded, mostly children.
A defense ministry statement late Tuesday condemned the latest strikes by Pakistan on Afghan territory, calling them “barbaric” and a “clear aggression.”
“The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but rather considers the defense of its territory and sovereignty to be its inalienable right,” the statement said, using the Taliban authorities’ name for the government.
Border tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban government seized power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carrying out regular attacks from Afghanistan.
Islamabad has accused Kabul’s Taliban government of harboring militant fighters, allowing them to strike on Pakistani soil with impunity.
Kabul has denied the allegations.
Passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashes in Kazakhstan with many feared dead
- An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet flying from the capital Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed on Wednesday
- 72 people were on board of the plane
An Embraer passenger plane flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying that 27 people had survived.
Unverified video of the crash showed the plane, which was operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, bursting into flames as it hit the ground and thick black smoke then rising. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
The Central Asian country’s emergencies ministry said in a statement that fire services had put out the blaze and that the survivors, including three children, were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Azerbaijan Airlines said the Embraer 190 aircraft, with flight number J2-8243, had been flying from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya, but had been forced to make an emergency landing approximately 3 km (1.8 miles) from the Kazakh city of Aktau.
Russian news agencies said the plane had been rerouted due to fog in Grozny.
Authorities in Kazakhstan said they had begun looking into different possible versions of what had happened, including a technical problem, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said in a statement that preliminary information suggested the pilot had decided to make an emergency landing after a bird strike.
Following the crash, Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, was returning home from Russia where he had been due to attend a summit on Wednesday, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, expressed his condolences in a statement and said those being treated in hospital were in an extremely serious condition and that he and others would pray for their rapid recovery.
Russia targets Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Christmas Day
- The regional governor counted seven Russian strikes and said casualties were still being assessed
KYIV: Russia launched a massive missile barrage targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Wednesday, striking a thermal power plant and prompting Ukrainians to take shelter in metro stations on Christmas morning.
Ukrainian energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said Russia again “massively attacks energy infrastructure,” in a Facebook statement. Ukraine’s Air Force alerted multiple missiles fired at Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Poltava regions east of the country.
“The (electricity) distribution system operator takes the necessary measures to limit consumption to minimize negative consequences for the power system,” he said. “As soon as the security situation allows, energy workers will establish the damage caused.”
Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia struck one of their thermal power plants Wednesday morning, making it the 13th attack on Ukraine’s power grid this year.
“Denying light and warmth to millions of peace-loving people as they celebrate Christmas is a depraved and evil act that must be answered,” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK wrote on his X account.
Zelensky condemns Russian ‘inhumane’ Christmas attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday denounced an “inhumane” attack from Russia, which launched dozens of missiles and drones on his war-torn country’s energy grid on Christmas Day.
The country woke up at 5:30 am (0330 GMT) to an air raid alarm, shortly followed by air force reports that Russia had launched Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea.
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones. The target is our energy system,” Zelensky said.
This was the 13th large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy system this year, the latest in Russia’s campaign targeting the power grid during winter.
The air force shot down over 50 missiles, Zelensky said.
“Unfortunately, there are some hits. As of now, there are blackouts in several regions,” he said.
Engineers were working to repair the system, but Ukraine’s DTEK energy company said the attack severely damaged equipment of thermal power plants, and regional officials reported power cuts.
Ukrainian state energy operator, Ukrenergo, applied preemptive power outages across the country, due to a “massive missile attack,” leading to electricity going out in several districts of the capital, Kyiv.
At least seven strikes targeted Kharkiv sparking fires across the city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. At least three people were injured, local authorities said.
“Kharkiv is under massive missile fire. A series of explosions rang out in the city and there are still ballistic missiles flying in the direction of the city. Stay in safe places,” Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Japan FM raises ‘serious concerns’ over China military activity
Beijing: Japan’s top diplomat Takeshi Iwaya expressed “serious concerns” to his Chinese counterpart over Beijing’s increasing military activity and the situation in the East and South China Sea, Tokyo said Wednesday.
Iwaya also told Wang Yi at talks in Beijing that “Japan is closely monitoring the Taiwan situation and recent military developments,” a statement from Japan’s foreign ministry said.
Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya was due in Beijing on Wednesday for talks with counterpart Wang Yi and other top officials as Tokyo acknowledged “challenges and concerns” in ties.
The visit is Iwaya’s first to China since becoming Japan’s top diplomat earlier this year.
China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over disputed territories and military spending has frayed ties in recent years.
Tensions also flared last year over Japan’s decision to begin releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of reactor cooling water amassed since the tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster — an operation the UN atomic agency deemed safe.
China branded the move “selfish” and banned all Japanese seafood imports, but in September said it would “gradually resume” the trade.
China imported more than $500 million worth of seafood from Japan in 2022, according to customs data.
Iwaya told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that “China represents one of the most important bilateral relationships for us.”
“Between Japan and China, there are various possibilities but also multiple challenges and concerns,” he said.
“Both countries possess the heavy responsibilities for the peace and stability of our region and the international community,” he added.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing sought to “strengthen dialogue and communication” in order to “properly manage differences” with Japan.
Beijing will “strive to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Japan’s brutal occupation of parts of China before and during World War II also remains a sore point, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to atone for its past.
Visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine that honors war dead — including convicted war criminals — regularly prompt anger from Beijing.
Beijing’s more assertive presence around disputed territories in the region, meanwhile, has sparked Tokyo’s ire, leading it to boost security ties with key ally the United States and other countries.
In August, a Chinese military aircraft staged the first confirmed incursion by China into Japanese airspace, followed weeks later by a Japanese warship sailing through the Taiwan Strait for the first time.
Beijing’s rare test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean in late September also drew strong protests from Tokyo, which said it had not been given advance notice.
China also in August formally indicted a Japanese man held since last year on espionage charges.
The man, an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas, was held in March last year and placed under formal arrest in October.
Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row
- Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida: President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.
Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.
“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”
Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”
He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden.
Is it a plan in motion or more rhetoric?
On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill US citizens.
“Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.”
Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation.
“I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said.
Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007.
Death row inmates are mostly sentenced by states
Before Biden’s commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states.
“The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said.
A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty.
Could rape now be punishable by death?
Berman said Trump’s statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape.
“That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said.
Before one of Trump’s rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line.
What were the cases highlighted by Trump?
One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before.
The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl’s mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings.
Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden’s decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision.
Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in UShistory.
