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China Records 1st Population Drop In Decades As Births Fall

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BEIJING, China  — China’s population went down for the first time in a long time last year as its birthrate fell, according to official figures released Tuesday, putting additional pressure on leaders to keep the economy growing despite an aging workforce and rising tensions with the United States.

Despite official figures, some experts believe China‘s population has been declining for several years — a dramatic shift in a country that once attempted to control population growth through a one-child policy.

Many wealthy countries are trying to figure out what to do about their aging workforces, which can slow down economic growth. Some experts think it will be especially hard for a developing economy like China to deal with this demographic shift.

“China had gotten older before it got rich,” Yi Fuxian, a demographer and expert on Chinese population, said.

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China Had 850,000 Fewer People in 2022

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country had 850,000 fewer people in 2022 than the previous year. The number only includes people who live in mainland China. It does not include people who live in Hong Kong, Macao, or other countries.

Official numbers show that over 1 million fewer babies were born than the year before. This was because the economy was slowing, and widespread pandemic lockdowns existed. In 2022, the bureau reported 9.56 million births and 10.41 million deaths.

It was unclear whether the covid 19 outbreak influenced the population figures. Some experts say China is underreporting deaths from the virus by saying other things caused them. However, no estimates of how many people have died have been made public.

Yi says that China’s population has started to drop nine to ten years earlier than Chinese officials and the UN thought it would. The country has long been the world’s most populous, but it is expected to be surpassed by India soon, if not already.

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Ending The One Child Policy Has Increased It Only Slightly

Since the end of the one-child policy in 2016, China has sought to increase its population. Since then, China has tried, with limited success, to encourage families to have second, mirroring attitudes in much of East Asia, where birth rates have fallen precipitously. The cost of raising children in cities is frequently cited as a cause in China.

Yi’s research shows that China’s population has decreased since 2018. This means that the population crisis is “much worse” than was thought before. According to him, China now has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, second only to Taiwan and South Korea.

That means China’s “true demographic crisis is beyond imagination” and that “all of China’s previous economic, social, defense, and foreign policies were based on faulty demographic data,” according to Yi.

Yi says that China’s coming economic crisis will be worse than Japan’s, partly blamed on a shrinking population.

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China’s Latest Decline Caused By ‘The Great Leap Forward’

Aside from demographic challenges, China is increasingly competing economically with the United States, which has restricted access to American technology for some Chinese companies, citing national security and fair competition concerns.

The last population decline in China is thought to have occurred during the Great Leap Forward.

According to China’s statistics bureau, there were 875.56 million people between the ages of 16 and 59 who were working-age, making up 62% of the country’s population. There were 209.78 million people 65 and older, making up 14.9% of the total.

According to Stuart Gietel-Basten, professor of social science at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, a declining population does not always imply a weaker economy.

“It’s a major psychological problem. “Perhaps the largest,” Gietel-Basten said.

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Women Still OutNumber Men

According to statistics bureau data, men outnumbered women by 722.06 million to 689.69 million, owing to the one-child policy.

The figures also showed an increase in urbanization in a traditionally rural country. The permanent urban population will increase by 6.46 million to 920.71 million, or 65.22%, by 2022.

Last year, the United Nations estimated that the world’s population reached 8 billion, and that India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023. The last census in India was scheduled for 2022 but was pushed back due to the pandemic.

The United Nations said in a report released on World Population Day that global population growth will fall below 1% in 2020 for the first time since 1950.

Also on Tuesday, the statistics bureau released data showing that China’s economic growth slowed to the second-lowest level in at least four decades last year, owing to anti-virus controls and a real estate slump.

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Economy Only Grew By 3%

According to the data, the world’s second-largest economy grew by 3% in 2022, less than half of the previous year’s 8.1%.

Gietel-Basten said that China has been adapting to changes in its population for years by making policies to move its economic activities up the value chain of innovation. He used the growth of the semiconductor manufacturing industry and the financial services industry as examples.

“India’s population is much younger and growing. But there are many reasons you wouldn’t bet your entire fortune on India overtaking China economically shortly,” he said.

Among India’s many challenges is a much lower level of female labor-force participation than in China, according to Gietel-Basten.

“Whatever population you have, it’s not what you have but what you do with it… to some extent,” he said.

SOURCE – (AP)

 

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London Hit With Heavy Snow as Temperatures Plummet

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London, snow, Britain, weather

London, England, has been gripped by an Arctic freeze, with temperatures dipping well below zero, snow forcing trains to stop, and over 200 schools closing in and across the UK.

Commuters faced traffic mayhem as Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest temperature in the UK this early in the season since 1998, at -11.2C (12.2F).

Today, the Met Office issued three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the Midlands and North of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The UK Health Security Agency issued the season’s first amber cold weather health advisory, warning that circumstances could be hazardous to vulnerable people.

Poor weather hampered rail travel, with no trains running between Nottingham and Worksop or between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.

Snow Blankets UK

A couple walks on the snow-covered ground at Pavillion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Northern services in Yorkshire between Bradford and Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge to Halifax, and Halifax to Hull were all disrupted while flooding at Ulverston in Cumbria caused delays between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

Around 130 Welsh schools closed in Wrexham, Powys, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, with closures also reported in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

Nearly 5 inches (12 cm) of snow fell at Watnall in Nottinghamshire, with 3 inches (8 cm) at Cranwell in Lincolnshire and 2 inches (5 cm) at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales.

The Met Office issued warnings that vehicles might become trapped, power outages could occur, remote communities could be shut off, and falling on ice could cause injury.

England has a yellow warning until 11 a.m., while Scotland has a warning until 10 a.m. tomorrow. Another warning for Northern Ireland expired at 10 a.m.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather health notice for the East and North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the Humber.

Yellow health alerts went into effect for the South East, South West, and London at 8 a.m. today and will run until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

National Rail warned that the cold weather would impair several routes on northern rail services until at least 2 p.m. today.

Merseyrail issued a notice informing passengers that due to the possibility of snow and ice covering tracks, the first train on each line in North West England would run without passengers to allow conditions to be examined.

Snow hits London as Arctic chill grips Britain: Temperatures drop to -11.2C as sleet blankets

National Highways also issued a strong amber weather advisory for snow, indicating that the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6, and junctions 21-23 of the M62 may see interruption.

WEATHER WARNING 1: The Met Office snow warning in Northern Ireland terminated at 10 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 2: A separate snow and ice warning for Northern England until 11 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 3: Scotland’s snow and ice warning is live until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Met Office, which characterized the weather as ‘the first taste of winter,’ said heavy snow will cause problems in England, with Derbyshire being the most vulnerable.

According to Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, a low-pressure system will move eastward on Monday night.

The related frontal system, which marks the border between cold air in the north and milder weather in the south, may deliver disruptive snow to certain locations between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Dr. Agostinho Sousa of the UK Health Security Agency stated, “This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as winter approaches. It is critical to check in on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.”

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Windsor Castle Robbed While Royal Family Slept

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Windsor Castle

UK police report two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate, home to Prince William and Catherine and their three children and stole two vehicles.

According to the Sun newspaper, the robbers broke into a farm building on the Windsor estate and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike stashed in a barn.

The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arrived at their estate home during the nighttime burglary.

Thames Valley Police stated the individuals ran to the Old Windsor/Datchet area, but no arrests have been made.

“Offenders entered a farm building and stole vehicles,” the police added. An investigation is underway regarding the incident.

There have been previous security incidents at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021, an intruder was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was equipped with a crossbow, received a nine-year prison sentence.

The Windsor estate, located west of London, spans 15,800 acres and contains functioning farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park, and well-known royal attractions, including Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle received 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the UK’s most popular royal tourist site.

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Britain’s Conservative Party Elects Kemi Badenoch as Leader

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Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as party leader
U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as their party's new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party elected outspoken MP Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, making her the first woman of color to lead a major British political party.

She has promised to give the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by advocating for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics.

The new leader faces a daunting challenge in restoring the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal, and economic turbulence, hammering Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and immigration and returning the Conservatives to power in the 2029 election.

“The task that stands before us is tough but simple,” Kemi Badenoch said in a victory address to a room full of Conservative legislators, staff, and journalists in London. She stated that the party’s role was to hold the Labour administration accountable while developing commitments and a government strategy.

Addressing the party’s electoral defeat, she stated, “We have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve,” according to Badenoch.

Kemi Badenoch was Born in London

Kemi Badenoch, a business secretary in Sunak’s cabinet, was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in West Africa.

The former software engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy and promising to “rewire, reboot, and reprogram” the British state. Like her adversary Jenrick, she has opposed multiculturalism and advocated for decreased immigration, but unlike him, she has not asked that Britain abandon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kemi Badenoch, a self-proclaimed hater of wokeness, opposes identity politics, gender-neutral toilets, and government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. During the leadership race, she was chastised for claiming that “not all cultures are equally valid” and implying that maternity pay was excessive.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, predicted that under Badenoch, the Conservative Party would “swing to the right both in terms of its economic and social policies.”

He foretold that Badenoch will follow “what you might call the boats, boilers and bathrooms strategy …. focusing very much on the trans issue, the immigration issue and skepticism about progress towards net zero.”

Conservative Party Becoming More Diverse

While the Conservative Party is unrepresentative of the country as a whole, with a decreasing membership of 132,000 mostly affluent, elderly white men, its higher echelons have become significantly more diverse.

Badenoch is the Tories’ fourth female leader, following Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, who became prime ministers.

She is the second Conservative leader of color, following Sunak, and the first with African heritage. The center-left Labour Party has a more diversified membership, but its leaders have always been white men.

In a more than three-month leadership contest, Conservative MPs narrowed the field from six to two in a series of votes before presenting the last two to a vote of the party’s membership.

Both finalists were from the party’s right-wing and claimed they could reclaim votes from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant group led by populist leader Nigel Farage that has eroded Conservative support.

However, the party lost many votes to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives are concerned that tacking right may move the party away from popular sentiment.

Kier Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult first few months in power, plagued by unfavorable headlines, fiscal woes, and a sinking approval rating.

However, Bale stated that the historical record implies Badenoch’s chances of leading the Conservatives back to power in 2029 are slim.

“It’s quite unusual for someone to take over when a party gets very badly beaten and manage to lead it to election victory,” according to him. “However, Keir Starmer did just that after 2019. So there are records to break.”

Source: AP

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