The number of births in Hong Kong surged by 11 per cent to 36,700 last year, but it was still the third lowest since data began in 1961. A big rebound after the pandemic was to be expected, helped by the introduction of a universal HK$20,000 (US$2,600) baby bonus and the impact of the Year…
A company in China has been told off by officials after it issued a notice threatening to fire its single and divorced employees if they remain single by the end of September. The Shuntian Chemical Group in eastern China’s Shandong province, which employs more than 1,200 people, announced a policy that vows to boost the…
The number of marriages in China continued to slide last year as the country faced a worsening demographic crisis. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry with a written request for comment. Why It Matters After seven years of decline, China’s birth rate ticked slightly upward last year, a shift analysts have attributed to…
Lunar New Year is a time of joy, celebration and hope for the future, marked by feasting, fireworks, festive events and family gatherings. The holiday brings aspirations for peace, prosperity and good fortune. Such wishes are timely amid the many uncertainties facing the world as we welcome the Year of the Snake. Hong Kong will…
Almost every parent I know wishes for their children to be successful in the future. “Hoping one’s son will become a dragon” is a Chinese idiom that encapsulates the high hopes parents have for their children. There is “hoping”, and then there is actively paving the path to success. Most parents do what they can…
Hong Kong is set for cold and dry weather ahead of the Year of the Snake, with temperatures expected to drop to as low as 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit) next Tuesday, the city’s meteorological agency has forecast. A fresh to strong easterly airstream would affect the coast of Guangdong in the next couple…
China’s population shrank for the third straight year in 2024, even though births rose slightly, underscoring a persistent long-term risk for the economy. The total number of people in China fell by over 1.39 million to 1.408 billion last year, according to data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Friday. Around 9.54 million babies…
Hong Kong’s public secondary schools can breathe a sigh of relief for survival with a net increase of 10 Form One classes recorded this academic year, thanks to a baby boom in the Year of the Dragon in 2012 and an influx of children whose parents arrived from mainland China under talent schemes. But the…