South China Sea, Xi meets American CEOs, and China opens WTO dispute against US subsidies
South China Sea, Xi meets American CEOs, and China opens WTO dispute against US subsidies
+ US, UK go after Chinese hackers
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THROUGH THE LENS
POLITICS & SOCIETY
Migrant workers who helped build modern China have scant or no pensions, and can't retire
AP
At 53, Guan Junling is too old to get hired at factories anymore. But for migrant workers like her, not working is not an option.
For decades, they have come from farming villages to find work in the cities. Toiling in sweatshops and building apartment complexes they could never afford to live in, they played a vital role in China’s transformation into an economic powerhouse.
As they grow older, the first generation of migrant workers is struggling to find jobs in a slowing economy. Many are financially strapped, so they have to keep looking.
“There is no such thing as a ‘retirement’ or ‘pensions’ for rural people. You can only rely on yourself and work,” Guan said. “When can you stop working? It’s really not until you have to lie in bed and you can’t do anything.”
China's Older Job Seekers Expose Scale of Unemployment Crisis
Newsweek
The squeeze on the country of 1.4 billion's massive but rapidly aging workforce is set to increase as China gradually raises the age of retirement—currently 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women, and 50 for women employed in factories.
"Relative to China's consumer market, China has a surplus of about 100 million laborers. In the past, China relied on exports to ensure employment. But now, due to the economic downturn and the "de-risk" policy of the West, China's exports are falling and unemployment pressure is rising," University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Yi Fuxian told Newsweek.
Adding fuel to the fire, a record 11.79 million college students are set to graduate this year.
Xi Jinping’s chief of staff is China’s new internet tsar, sources say
SCMP
Cai Qi, the president’s chief of staff, has taken charge of the Communist Party body overseeing cybersecurity and the internet in China, sources say.
As the new internet tsar, Cai will oversee the country’s digital economy, which is worth more than 50 trillion yuan (US$6.9 trillion).
The position had been held by Xi Jinping since 2014, and analysts say the move reflects a trend in the past year of the Chinese leader delegating more responsibilities to trusted deputies.
Three official sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post that Xi had appointed Cai to head the party’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.
The body was set up by Xi in 2014 – two years after he became Communist Party leader – to consolidate the party’s direct control over the internet. It started as the Central Leading Group for Cyber Affairs and was expanded to a commission in 2018.
It was established because of concerns raised by Xi and other officials that Beijing’s lack of control over the internet and public opinion expressed online could compromise the party’s rule.
Cai’s appointment has not been announced but he took the helm of the commission some time in the first half of 2023, according to one source in Beijing.
The party does not usually announce such appointments. They are usually disclosed in official statements issued after meetings, which contain the key members’ roles and titles.
China, battling low birth rates and high costs, encourages frugal weddings
Reuters
Young couples in China planning "simple" weddings, rather than traditional banquets with hundreds of guests, was one of the top hits online after an article urging more frugal nuptials was published by the government body in charge of women's rights.
The article by the All China Women's Federation, featured on Chinese search engine Baidu's "hot list" on Tuesday, said couples were exhausted by the expense and time required for big weddings.
Changes include shrugging off rituals such as renting luxury cars, fancy photographers and souvenirs for the guests, instead opting for a small-scale party for family and close friends.
One couple interviewed said they spent around 6,000 yuan ($831) for their nuptials, significantly lower than traditional wedding banquets that can cost over 200,000 yuan ($27,700).
The shift to a more simple style is important to develop good future customs, the article said.
"From a social perspective, extravagant celebrations of happy events are a bad habit... the rise of minimalist weddings meets the demand for frugal weddings and will help to develop a good custom."
The post comes as the number of new marriages in China jumped 12.4% in 2023, compared with a year earlier, reversing close to a decade of declines as many young couples tied the knot after delaying their nuptials due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Policymakers are grappling with how to reverse the fall in new births after China's population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023.
Marriage rates in China are closely tied to birth rates, giving some cheer to policymakers that a tick up in marriages could yield to more babies being born and soften the population decline in 2024.
In China, the Hottest Travel Accessory Is a Tenured Professor
Sixth Tone
Known in Chinese as youxue, or “study tours,” such trips have exploded in popularity among well-to-do Chinese over the past two years. For onetime public intellectuals, the trips offer both a source of income and an all-expenses-paid vacation; for their fans, it’s a rare chance to reconnect with their idols after years spent out of the public eye and even pick their brains about topics of interest.
There are almost as many study tours as there are academic disciplines. With enough money, you can travel the Aegean with philosopher Chen Jiaying, visit the temples of Kyoto and Nara with preservation expert Shi Zhaozhao, or explore the ancient civilizations of Central Asia’s Silk Road oases with economist Liang Xiaomin.
Can City Walks Fix What Ails Chinese Urbanism?
Sixth Tone
Consisting of short, targeted walks around historic or interesting neighborhoods, city walks emerged last year as an easy, accessible alternative to expensive, long-distance vacations. With domestic travel reaching record highs after the pandemic and tourist hotspots increasingly overwhelmed during peak travel season, many urban Chinese started exploring the shops, heritage buildings, and parks near their homes — sometimes under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable guide and sometimes with nothing more than a smartphone and a list of social media tips. Local governments have been quick to promote the trend, seeing it as a way to keep residents and their wallets close to home.
HONG KONG & MACAO
Hong Kong leader says early prison release unlikely for national security offenders
Reuters
Hong Kong's leader John Lee said on Tuesday it would become "common practice" not to grant people convicted of national security offences early release from prison under the city's new national security law.
Lee's remarks at a weekly press conference came amid local media reports that activist Ma Chun-man was the first prisoner blocked from early release for good behaviour after the new law took force at the weekend.
The law, known as Article 23, covers new or updated offences including sedition, espionage and interference by external forces, sparking international criticism that some definitions are too vague and it could damage the Chinese-ruled city's international financial hub credentials.
Security law: Hong Kong officials to face new US visa restrictions
HKFP
The US is to enact new visa restrictions upon multiple Hong Kong officials in light of what it deems a crackdown on rights and freedoms.
A Friday statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that – over the past year – Beijing has “continued to take actions against Hong Kong’s promised high degree of autonomy, democratic institutions, and rights and freedoms.”
US-funded Radio Free Asia shuts down in Hong Kong over safety concerns
The Guardian
US-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) has closed its Hong Kong bureau over safety concerns for its staff in the wake of a new national security law known as Article 23.
“Actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a ‘foreign force’, raise serious questions about our ability to operate in safety with the enactment of Article 23,” its president, Bay Fang, said in a statement on Friday.
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