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Shuen Chun-wa, 81, and her husband hurried toward a green bus with two dozen other Hong Kong residents, dragging empty suitcases. They had purple tour stickers on their jackets and were headed to shop in Shenzhen, a bustling Chinese city that sits on the northern side of the border with Hong Kong. She paid $9,000 in Shenzhen for a procedure that would have cost $25,000 in Hong Kong. So I went to Shenzhen.”Since China opened its borders in January 2023 after several years of pandemic isolation, Hong Kong residents have made Shenzhen a weekend destination to shop, dine and, yes, even visit the dentist. Hong Kong remains one of the most unaffordable cities in the world, and its battered economy and plunging stock market have made everyone more money conscious.

Persons: Shuen Chun, Shuen’s, ”, Hong Kongers Locations: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, ”, China

China’s ruling Communist Party is facing a national emergency. To fix it, the party wants more women to have more babies. Chinese women have been shunning marriage and babies at such a rapid pace that China’s population in 2023 shrank for the second straight year, accelerating the government’s sense of crisis over the country’s rapidly aging population and its economic future. China said on Wednesday that 9.02 million babies were born in 2023, down from 9.56 million in 2022 and the seventh year in a row that the number has fallen. China’s total population was 1,409,670,000 at the end of 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Persons: China’s Organizations: Communist Party, National Bureau of Statistics Locations: China

After two years in detention, a Chinese journalist who spoke up against sexual harassment stood trial on subversion charges on Friday along with a labor rights activist, the latest example of Beijing’s intensified crackdown on civil society. Huang Xueqin, an independent journalist who was once a prominent voice in China’s #MeToo movement, and her friend Wang Jianbing, the activist, were taken away by the police in September 2021 and later charged with inciting subversion of state power. Their trial was held at the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court in southern China. Little is known about the government’s case, but the vaguely worded offense with which the two were charged has long been seen as a tool for muzzling dissent. A steady stream of activists, lawyers, tycoons and intellectuals have been put on trial and sentenced.

Persons: Beijing’s, Huang Xueqin, Wang Jianbing, Xi Jinping, Huang Organizations: People’s, Communist Party, Human Rights Locations: Chinese, Guangzhou, China

It has been a brutal three years for China’s young adults. Draconian coronavirus restrictions are over, but not the sense of uncertainty about the future they created. For many people, the recent turmoil is another reason to postpone major life decisions — contributing to a record-low marriage rate and complicating the government’s efforts to stave off a demographic crisis. Grace Zhang, a tech worker who had long been ambivalent about marriage, spent two months barricaded in the government lockdown of Shanghai last year. When China reopened in December, Ms. Zhang, 31, left Shanghai to work remotely, traveling from city to city in hopes that a change of scene would restore her positive outlook.

Persons: Grace Zhang, Zhang Locations: Shanghai, China

☆ With Rainbow Flags, 2 Students Test China’s Shrinking L.G.B.T.Q. Space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Nicole Hong | Zixu Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Karolyn Li still remembers reading the brochure from China’s prestigious Tsinghua University when she was in high school preparing to apply to college. rights group, a suggestion of inclusivity on campus that surprised Ms. Li, who identifies as queer. Ms. Li ended up enrolling at Tsinghua. Now a 21-year-old junior, Ms. Li sees the brochure as cruelly ironic. “All these things add up to make me wonder: How did things get so bad?” said Ms. Huang, who identifies as a lesbian.

Persons: Karolyn Li, Li, Christine Huang, ”, Huang Organizations: Tsinghua University, Tsinghua

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