Chang Zi Qian: Latest Articles, Analysis and Profile
SCMP Contributor
Chang Zi Qian is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His experience spans the law, technology and government. He practises wing chun in his free time, is an avid reader of history and occasionally wonders when Singlish will get the official recognition it deserves.
Chang Zi Qian is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His experience spans the law, technology and government. He practises wing chun in his free time, is an avid reader of history and occasionally wonders when Singlish will get the official recognition it deserves.
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South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China's kindergartens grapple with economic impact of plunge in prospective pupils
The government-affiliated kindergarten that Lily Wang works for in northeastern China used to be reserved for the children of officials, but China's plunging birth rate means it is having to cast its net wider nowadays. 'The leadership has shifted its approach, enlarging the enrolment base and learning from the southern regions by adopting group-based management,' said Wang, a senior teacher at the kindergarten in Harbin, Heilongjiang's provincial capital. It began recruiting pupils from the general populace in autumn last year. While it still gives priority to officials' children when reviewing applications, Wang said it felt as though even more pupils came from other backgrounds this year. With fewer children being born in China, the country's kindergartens are struggling to find a path to survival. Solutions range from enrolling pupils from a wider range of backgrounds to offering other services that make use of teachers' skills. China's population fell for the first time in 60 years in 2022 , with 9.56 million babies born that year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of births fell further in 2023 before rebounding slightly last year – due in part to the Year of the Dragon being regarded as auspicious. There were 253,300 kindergartens operating in China last year, down about 38,400 – or just over 13 per cent – from 2020. The number of children enrolled in them, which peaked at 48.18 million in 2020, was down 25.5 per cent at 35.84 million.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
China's kindergartens grapple with economic impact of plunge in prospective pupils
The government-affiliated kindergarten that Lily Wang works for in northeastern China used to be reserved for the children of officials, but China's plunging birth rate means it is having to cast its net wider nowadays. 'The leadership has shifted its approach, enlarging the enrolment base and learning from the southern regions by adopting group-based management,' said Wang, a senior teacher at the kindergarten in Harbin, Heilongjiang's provincial capital. It began recruiting pupils from the general populace in autumn last year. While it still gives priority to officials' children when reviewing applications, Wang said it felt as though even more pupils came from other backgrounds this year. With fewer children being born in China, the country's kindergartens are struggling to find a path to survival. Solutions range from enrolling pupils from a wider range of backgrounds to offering other services that make use of teachers' skills. China's population fell for the first time in 60 years in 2022 , with 9.56 million babies born that year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The number of births fell further in 2023 before rebounding slightly last year – due in part to the Year of the Dragon being regarded as auspicious. There were 253,300 kindergartens operating in China last year, down about 38,400 – or just over 13 per cent – from 2020. The number of children enrolled in them, which peaked at 48.18 million in 2020, was down 25.5 per cent at 35.84 million.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How bamboo scaffolding helped build Hong Kong and still holds up, despite uncertain future
In the concrete and steel jungle of Hong Kong, bamboo remains a widely used building material. Advertisement The organic material is shaped into rapidly constructed scaffolding that covers new developments or supports workers doing building renovations. Bamboo scaffolding even forms entire venues for pop-up Cantonese opera theatres and cultural events. Hong Kong is one of the last bastions of bamboo scaffolding in the world. The city's enduring reliance on it is the result of a unique blend of heritage and practicality – bamboo is cheap, strong and flexible. But while many cherish it, in March 2025, the city's government started a partial phasing out of bamboo in favour of metal scaffolding, citing safety concerns. Bamboo scaffolders known as 'spiders' continue to work for now, but their craft could be slowly fading away.
