China vows sustainable urbanisation after decades of breakneck growth
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South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong lawmakers finish scrutinising same-sex couples bill clauses in 2 days
Hong Kong lawmakers have taken two days to complete a clause-by-clause examination of a bill to recognise certain rights for same-sex couples, despite strong opposition in the city's legislature. Legislators raised 33 questions during two bills committee meetings on Monday, with their concerns including criminal offences associated with the proposed registration regime for same-sex couples. Twenty-eight questions were raised when the bill was first discussed on Friday. The Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill is the government's answer to a 2023 ruling from the Court of Final Appeal that gave authorities two years to draw up laws setting out 'core rights' for same-sex couples, but did not outline what they might be. A source earlier told the Post that the government would apply to the court for an extension in fulfilling the ruling, as its deadline of October 27 was drawing near. Lawmaker Chan Yung said the bills committee that he chaired would report to the Legislative Council's House Committee to propose a date for resuming the second reading.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China launches first national childcare subsidies in bid to tackle demographic crisis
China has announced its most significant central-level effort to reverse a deepening demographic crisis since allowing families to have three children, unveiling a long-awaited national childcare subsidy scheme that will provide up to 10,800 yuan (US$1,505) per child under the age of three. The move came amid mounting urgency among policymakers to stem the population decline and blunt its long-term drag on economic growth and social stability, after years of piecemeal local incentives that failed to reverse the downward trend. China will provide an annual childcare subsidy of 3,600 yuan for every child born on or after January 1, 2025, until they turn three – regardless of whether they are the first, second or third child, according to a government announcement on Monday. Children born before that date but still under three will also be eligible for a prorated subsidy based on the remaining months. More than 20 provinces across China have already experimented with childcare subsidies at various local levels. But this marks the first nationwide scheme introduced by the central government. 'The policy does mark a major milestone in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in future,' said Huang Zichun, China economist at Capital Economics, in a report published on Monday. But he also pointed out that the sums involved were too small to have a near-term impact on the birth rate or household consumption.
RTHK
3 hours ago
- RTHK
Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire
Thailand and Cambodia agree to ceasefire Sealing the ceasefire deal in Putrajaya are, from left, Hun Manet of Cambodia, Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia and Phumtham Wechayachai of Thailand. Photo: Reuters The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a ceasefire on Monday effective midnight, in a bid to bring an end to their deadliest conflict in more than a decade after five days of fierce fighting. Amid an international effort to quell the conflict, the Thai and Cambodian leaders held talks in Malaysia hosted by its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the Asean regional bloc, where both sides agreed to halt hostilities and resume direct communications. Anwar said when opening a press conference alongside the Thai and Cambodian leaders that there would be "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight. This is final." The Southeast Asian neighbours accuse each other of starting the fighting last week, before escalating it with heavy artillery bombardment and Thai air strikes along their 817km land border. Anwar had proposed ceasefire talks soon after a long-running border dispute erupted into conflict on Thursday, and China and the United States also offered to assist in negotiations. US President Donald Trump called both leaders at the weekend urging them to settle their differences, warning he would not conclude trade deals with them unless they ended the fighting. The tension between Thailand and Cambodia has intensified since the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief skirmish late in May. Both sides reinforced border troops amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse. "Today we have a very good meeting and very good results... that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries and also caused displacement of people," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said, expressing appreciation to China for its efforts in participating in the process and to Trump. "We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship, and as a foundation for future de-escalation of forces." Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who had earlier expressed doubts about Cambodia's sincerity ahead of the negotiations in Malaysia, said Thailand had agreed to ceasefire that would "be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides". (Reuters)
