According to a study by the Bank of Korea and the OECD, competition for places at the best private schools is driving fertility rates to historic lows (with only a slight recovery in the last two years). Without this factor, the average number of children would rise by 28 per cent. Women are more affected than men.
The semi-official newspaper Global Times rules out a change of course by Brussels in its (strained) relationship with Beijing. Ursula Von der Leyen's re-election would mean a hard-line with Xi. Decisions over e-vehicle tariffs, with Beijing threatening retaliation, are expected in coming days.
Today's news: South Korean doctors on strike on 18 June against government reform; Economic crisis and joblessness cause growing school dropout in Laos; At least seven security men killed in an explosion in Pakistan; Armenian archbishop calls for street protest against government territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
The great German Reformed theologian, who passed away a few days ago at the age of 98, nurtured dialogue with cultural Christians in Hong Kong and Beijing. He recognised the dignity and sincerity of another theological journey in China, however controversial, unusual, and even challenged by traditional circles.
Bishkek and Tashkent ink a memorandum to connect Kashgar to Andijon. This will cut the freight journey to Europe and the Persian Gulf, while bypassing Russia. For the Chinese president, the agreement is "a show of determination,” part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Forum, the Russian president said he "appreciates" South Korea’s position. Although Seoul joined Washington in imposing sanctions against Russia, it has not sent weapons to Ukraine. Putin also reiterated his intention to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Conversely, he took a tough stance against Japan, saying that conditions are not in place to resume sovereignty talks over the Kuril Islands.
According to recent data, free-visa entry for travellers from some European and Southeast Asian countries is beginning to bear fruit with 13.1 million entries in the first quarter of 2024. In order to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2025, the authorities are working to remove bans on foreigners in budget hotels.
A businessman has been held for four months only for demonstrating in Zhengzhou to get his savings back, Reuters reports. About 600,000 people have been caught up in the scandal. Such extended detention in China is unprecedented for this type of action, but the past two years have seen a sharp increase in economic protests.
The paper pays tribute to the victims on the 35th anniversary of the massacre. In an editorial, it cites an increasingly "restrictive" reality in which even praying may “arouse concern”. In Beijing, access to Tiananmen Square is restricted while the web is censored. Taiwan pledges to respond to "authoritarianism" with "freedom” while a rally is scheduled in the capital. Canada and the United States are set to host memorial ceremonies.
While China is systematically erasing the memory of the brutal repression of student protests on 4 June 1989, 14 prominent participants of that movement are still behind bars, rearrested for their struggle for democracy. Chinese Human Rights Defenders issued an appeal for their release. In Hong Kong there is concern for Jimmy Lai's health.
Work on the mega-project has resumed after a 10-year stalemate. A delegation from Beijing visited the country in recent days. A facility competing with the route planned by the Emirates and Turkey. The unresolved knot of maritime disputes with Iraq. At the weekend the Emir signed the appointment of Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as Crown Prince.
A community in Jiangxi wanted images of the Irish priests who served it between the 1920s and 1950s to appear on the stained glass windows in the renovation of its parish restored after long being a kindergarten. Including a martyr killed by Communist militias, whose grave is still a place revered by local Catholics.
The bishop penned his thoughts about the "sensitive” date, which is taboo in Hong Kong, in an article published yesterday by the diocesan weekly Sunday Examiner. In it, the bishop remembers the “life sapping event that took place 35 years ago” in Beijing on 4 June 1989. Although impossible to forget, he suggests to look at it through the eyes of “God’s unconditional love” who forgives even those who “are not yet courageous enough to ask for it.
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