China

The car belonged to an official of the population control bureau. The parents were being transported to the small office to be fined. The one-child policy is criticized by demographers because it contributes to a rapidly aging population and decreasing workforce. But the government continues to implement it.

The world's hotspots in the Far East and North Africa parallel the deep crisis of the US and world economies. As Barack Obama's Keynesian plans fail, the US dollar could experience hyper-inflation at a time when real market values and trust in central banks are at an all time low.

After yet another military provocation by Chinese ships in disputed waters of the Senkaku / Diaoyu, the Japanese government convokes the Beijing ambassador. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warns: "We will defend the country from any threat." Meanwhile, the winds of war are also blowing on the Korean peninsula, with Seoul warning the UN: “nuclear test by Pyongyang is imminent."

In a new book, Google chief Eric Schmidt describes China's Communist regime as the worst threat to Internet freedom. In the past ten years, Beijing has come under intense criticism for its censorship. Chinese media respond by accusing the US of nationalism.

In a speech to the Defence Forces, Shinzo Abe focuses on tensions in the East China Sea. Without naming Beijing, he warns that "the security of our country is increasingly at risk." Denouncing the ongoing "provocations," the prime minister invokes "legitimate rights" and a promise to protect "land, sea and sky."

A truck carrying fireworks for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Dozens of vehicles have fallen from a height of 30 meters. In 2011 more than 60 thousand people died in traffic accidents.

After the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal comes under a cyberattack, something all too familiar to foreign correspondents in Beijing. Whilst Li Keqiang calls for Sino-US cooperation, Chinese authorities are silent on papers' accusations.

Lorang Konchok, 40, has also lost his political rights. With him, his nephew also condemned to 10 years in prison. Sichuan court declares them guilty of murder in eight cases of self-immolation, three of them fatal.

Zhong Nanshan, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the Institute for respiratory diseases in Guangzhou, warns: "We could defend ourselves from the terrible infection but it is impossible to escape this smog." Peak in hospital admissions for the "Beijing cough", citizens vent anger on the internet: "This is the price to pay for economic growth."

Xu was one of the first members of the Communist Party, which he immediately left after the riseto power of Mao Zedong and the beginning of the repression of human rights. True champion of democracy, he continued to resist until the end of the communist regime in spite of 20 years of exile in the countryside and 11 arrests.

Particulate levels are three times higher than the highest tolerable level. Dozens of flights are cancelled as municipal authorities reduce the number of official cars on the road and urge residents to stay indoors. However, the impact is minimal with hospitals overrun by children suffering from the 'Beijing cough'.

Between 30 January and 2 February, a series of events and meetings will be held in New Delhi on Chinese repression in Tibet. The international community "must act now and condemn what is happening in this land," Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay said. Although he is opposed to self-immolations, he believes they are sign of Tibetans' desperation and determination.