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China

China to maintain strict ‘one child’ policy

China, the world’s most populous country with more than 1.3 billion people, will maintain its strict “one-child” policy, state media said Sunday, despite calls for the rules to be relaxed.
The population control measure has prevented almost half a billion births since it was introduced in 1979, Chinese experts claim.
But it has turned [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 31, 2011

China censors web after tax riots

China on Friday blocked online access to news of riots by thousands of people who clashed with police in an eastern manufacturing city in what began as a protest over taxes.
Cars were smashed and several people were injured in the riots, which went on for more than a day and involved thousands of people, said [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 28, 2011

Taiwan urges better South China Sea defence

Taiwan’s security chief called Wednesday for improved defences of a group of islands in the South China Sea, reacting to reports that rival claimants to the disputed waters are building up their arms.
“The Spratly Islands are our territory … We should upgrade our defence capabilities and replace some ageing equipment,” Tsai De-sheng, head of the [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 27, 2011

China welcomes Taiwan leader’s peace plan

China on Wednesday welcomed a proposal by Taiwan’s president for a peace treaty, but dismissed calls by the island’s opposition for a referendum on political talks as a “stunt”.
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou last week suggested the island should consider signing a peace treaty with China in the coming decade to put a formal [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 27, 2011

China lawmakers mull greater powers for police

China’s top lawmakers are considering granting police powers to make more frequent citizen ID checks, state media said on Wednesday, sparking criticism from rights lawyers.
A draft legal amendment being debated this week would allow police to check people’s identity documents at train stations, airports and major events, the Global Times daily said.
Under [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 27, 2011

China’s one-child rule turns into a time bomb

China’s one-child policy has prevented almost half a billion births but has turned into a demographic time bomb as the population ages, storing up huge economic and social problems for the country.
As the world’s population hits the seven billion mark, straining the earth’s resources, China can claim to have curbed its birth rate [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 27, 2011

China’s CNOOC says oil leak sealed: Xinhua

Chinese oil giant CNOOC has said the country’s worst-ever offshore oil leak has been sealed, four months after it was first discovered, the state Xinhua news agency reported.
Beijing said the spill at China’s largest offshore oilfield, which is operated by US oil giant ConocoPhillips, polluted more than 5,500 square kilometers (2,200 square miles) of sea.
Last [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 25, 2011

China’s glaciers in meltdown mode: stud

Sharp increases in temperature driven by global warming are melting China’s Himalayan glaciers, an impact that threatens habitats, tourism and economic development, says a study released Tuesday.
Of 111 weather stations scattered across southwestern China, 77 percent showed significant upticks in temperatures between 1961 and 2008, according to the study, published in a British [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 25, 2011

China warns of winter power shortage

China has warned that the country faces another power shortage this winter as coal prices soar and a severe drought hits hydropower plants.
The shortfall could reach 26 million kilowatts in the coming months, with southern and central areas hardest hit due to the lack of coal and water in those regions, the State [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 22, 2011

Chinese hit-and-run toddler dies

A Chinese toddler who was ignored by at least 18 passers-by as she lay bleeding and unconscious in the street, has died, the hospital treating her said Friday, in an incident that has shocked the nation.
The plight of the two-year-old girl, nicknamed Yue Yue, captured the public imagination after surveillance camera [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 22, 2011