International
The Chinese say “yes I do” to singleness
The fathers and mothers of China who go to the parks with posters to “pair” their sons and daughters are getting their homework going uphill every day, because in these times in addition to not wanting to have offspring – which brings the Government upside down -, young people do not want to get married either.
The figures don’t lie: data released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs this week indicate that the number of marriages registered during 2024 fell to 6.1 million couples, the lowest figure since records began in 1980.
The decrease is also striking because it occurred, according to the lunar calendar, in the “Year of the Dragon”, the only mythological animal of the Chinese horoscope and a period so linked to good omens that couples traditionally scheduled their weddings or the birth of their children under this sign.
But now, in a country whose foundations rest on deep-rooted family values, the trend speaks of a youth that moves away from the millennial tradition quickly and without looking back, but who also, in many cases, does so to avoid the following “mandatory” steps of a list written in stone: having children and assuming the spouse’s family as one’s own.
“The cost of having a child is very high. I feel that life after marriage is not as good as when I am single,” Guo Shengnan, 27, tells EFE.
This journalist and influencer on social networks also points out other factors, such as that her work career does not leave her time to fall in love and that “there are not many high quality men” in her environment.
“The marriage is not only the union of two people, but also the union of two families behind these two people, which means responsibility. I just want to live a good life for myself and I don’t want to assume those responsibilities,” says Guo.
The question of the family of law has special weight in the case of women. They are expected to take care of their mother-in-law in old age. And the mothers-in-law, in China, rule a lot.
Zhao (surname), a 37-year-old official who clings to his singleness after seeing his married friends “on the verge of collapse,” tells EFE that marriage “is not only the combination of two people, but also the combination of two families.”
“Differences in lifestyle habits, perspectives of life and opinions above all would drive me crazy,” says the interviewee, who affirms that his “patience and tolerance” for relationships every day are less and concludes: “marriage is not the crystallization of love, it can be the grave of life.”
A walk through the crowded Chinese social networks confirms Guo and Zhao’s feelings.
“I have a younger brother. He can complete the task of getting married,” says an Internet user. Another refuses to “attend to men” and a third states that the purpose of getting married is to have children and since she does not want to have them, she does not need to get married.
In the case of men, economic reasons also arise, from the maintenance to the tradition of the dowry, which is still maintained in many places in a China where decades of one-child policy led to a gender imbalance, with many more men than women today.
“I don’t have a car, just a house in the countryside and a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan (688 dollars or 655 euros). I’m afraid that someone else’s daughter will die of hunger,” laments a user, while another drags an unpaid loan that prevents him from providing the dowry and one who boasts of having “house, car and life” believes that getting married will reduce his quality of life.
On the other hand, in many of the Chinese provinces babies born to unmarried couples cannot be legally registered, a headache for the authorities in the midst of a demographic crisis that has made China lose the title of the most populous country in the world at the hands of India.
The population of the Asian giant, about 1,411 million inhabitants in the last census, has been decreasing for three years in a row for the first time since 1961, when the failed industrialization policy of the Great Leap Forward produced a famine that took millions of lives.
For now, the countless benefits approved by the Government to stimulate the birth rate – including “allowing” having three children – have fallen on deaf ears.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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