China abandons one-child policy

China announced the end of its hugely controversial one-child policy on Thursday, with the official Xinhua news agency saying that all couples would be allowed two children.

It cited a communiqué issued by the ruling Communist Party after a four-day meeting in Beijing to chart the course of the world's second largest economy over the next five years.

China is "abandoning its decades-long one-child policy", Xinhua reported.

The policy restricted most couples to only a single offspring, and for years authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China's economic boom.

But after years of strict, sometimes brutal enforcement by a dedicated government commission, China's population -- the world's largest -- is now ageing rapidly, gender imbalances are severe, and its workforce is shrinking.

The concerns led to limited reforms in 2013, including allowing a second child for some couples in urban areas, but relatively few have taken up the opportunity.

The Communist leadership met in Beijing to discuss ways to put the country's stuttering economy back on a smooth growth path as it struggles with structural inefficiencies and social policies left over from an era before it embraced market reforms.

FRANCE 24'S TRACY CHANG REPORTS ON CHINA'S ONE-CHILD POLICY FROM BEIJING

Known as the fifth plenum, the conclave discussed the next Five-Year Plan for China -- the 13th since the People's Republic was founded in 1949.

Over four days of meetings the 205 members of the Central Committee, plus around 170 alternates, examined the specifics of the plan, which was largely worked out through a process of national consultations before the leaders even set foot in the capital.

The country's rubber-stamp legislature will officially approve the resulting document next year.

The world's most populous country has enjoyed a decades-long boom since the ruling party embraced market economics and opened up to the rest of the world from the late 1970s.

The process has transformed the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people and propelled the country to global prominence.

But growth has been slowing for several years, and analysts say the party needs to embrace further liberalisation to avoid falling into the stagnation of the "middle income trap", when developing countries fail to fulfil their full potential.

INTERNATIONAL

PHILIP HEIJMANS / AL JAZEERA

The corruption of Myanmar's jade trade ‘heist’

New report identifies key players in the industry who have obtained billions worth of the precious gem in the last year

October 23, 2015 10:13AM ET

by Philip Heijmans

YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar's vast jade industry is being used as a slush fund by a network of military elites, drug lords and crony companies who illegally exploit the valuable resource for tens of billions of dollars a year, according to a report released on Friday by Global Witness.

Burma signs ceasefire deal with eight rebel factions

Myanmar's government and eight smaller ethnic rebel armies signed a ceasefire agreement to end more than six decades of fighting, but other more powerful groups refused to come on board, signaling that peace will remain elusive.

Thousands flee as deadly Typhoon Koppu hits northern Philippines

Powerful Typhoon Koppu wrecked houses, tore down trees and unleashed landslides and floods, killing at least 16 people and forcing thousands to flee as it pummeled the northern Philippines on Sunday, officials said.

Officials fear the death toll may rise after Typhoon Koppu tore through the main island of Luzon leaving several remote towns and villages isolated due to flash floods and toppled trees and boulders blocking roads. Power was down in many areas.

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed close to China’s man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said its warships tracked and warned the American vessel.

The patrol by the USS Lassen was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China asserts around the islands in the Spratly archipelago and could ratchet up tension in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

One U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef. A second defense official said the mission, which lasted a few hours, included Mischief Reef and would be the first in a series of freedom-of-navigation exercises aimed at testing China’s territorial claims.

A Chinese guided-missile destroyer and a naval patrol ship shadowed and gave warnings to the U.S. warship “according to law”, China’s Defense Ministry said in statements on its website, adding that the military would take all necessary steps to protect the country’s security.

The U.S. patrol was a “coercive action that seeks to militarize the South China Sea region” and an “abuse” of freedom of navigation under international law, it added.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui summoned U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus over the incident, calling the U.S. patrol “extremely irresponsible,” the Foreign Ministry said on its website. The ministry earlier said the USS Lassen “illegally” entered waters near islands and reefs in the Spratlys without the Chinese government’s permission.

“China will resolutely respond to any country’s deliberate provocations,” the ministry said in a statement that gave no details on precisely where the U.S. ship sailed.

http://www.france24.com/en/20151027-us-navy-destroyer-nears-disputed-islands-south-china-sea

solated North Korea marked the 70th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday with a massive military parade overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, who said his country was ready to fight any war waged by the United States.

Thousands of troops stood at attention under a blue autumn sky in Pyongyang’s main Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kim Jong Un’s grandfather and the founder of the nation, as Kim, appearing relaxed and confident, made his speech, leaning heavily on the lectern.

The young leader was accompanied by senior Chinese Communist Party official Liu Yunshan, with whom he was seen speaking throughout the event and occasionally shared laughs, and flanked by senior North Korean party and military officials.

“The party’s revolutionary armament means we are ready to fight any kind of war waged by the U.S. imperialists,” Kim said in a speech strikingly more forceful than previous public comments, praising the feats of past leaders and the ruling party.

He made no direct mention of the country’s nuclear programme, likely a conciliatory diplomatic gesture towards China, which hosted the now-defunct “six-party talks”, also involving the United States, on giving economic incentives to Pyongyang in return for scrapping its atomic ambitions.

On Wednesday, a high-level U.S. military official said Washington believed North Korea had the capability to launch a nuclear weapon against the U.S. mainland and stood ready to defend against any such attacks.

Kim’s speech was followed by troops marching in formation, first by a corps of soldiers dressed in the style of the revolutionary force that fought Japan during World War Two, and then a procession of military might rolling past the square.

http://www.france24.com/en/20151010-north-korea-marks-anniversary-with-massive-military-parade-kim-jong-un-usa

China has cautiously welcomed a free trade deal struck between 12 Pacific Rim countries, the biggest in decades.

The US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) cuts trade tariffs and sets common standards in member countries including Japan and the US.

China said it was "open to any mechanism" that follows World Trade Organization rules.

But it did not indicate it would join the TPP, which still needs to be ratified by lawmakers in each country.

China, which was not part of the negotiations, has announced its own rival trade agreement.

Image copyrightAssociated Press

Image captionJapanese PM Shinzo Abe welcomed the pact but said it would contribute to regional stability if China joined

The TPP, which covers about 40% of the world economy, was struck on Monday after five days of talks in Atlanta in the US.

Those talks were the culmination of five years of negotiations between member countries led by the US. The deal is seen by some as a counter balance to China's growing economic influence in the Asia Pacific region.

'Regional stability'

China's Ministry of Commerce called the TPP "one of the key free trade agreements for the Asia-Pacific region", according to a statement on Xinhua state news agency website.

"China hopes the TPP pact and other free trade arrangements in the region can boost each other and contribute to the Asia-Pacific's trade, investment and economic growth," it said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday the deal signified a "new Asia-Pacific century", but added that it would have strategic meaning if China joined in the future.

"It would contribute largely to our nation's security and Asia-Pacific regional stability," he said.

---

What is the TPP?

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Media captionWhich countries are in the TPP and what does it mean?

How did it start? With a trade agreement signed 10 years ago between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.

How big is it? Pretty big. The 12 countries have a population of about 800 million and are responsible for 40% of world trade.