With its over 1.3 billion people, almost one fifth of humanity, China has had to take stringent measures to deal with its population explosion. For the past three decades, China's one-child policy has effectively prevented four hundred million births, a number greater than the entire U.S. population. In many ways, the policy seems to have worked: With fewer mouths to feed, poverty has fallen, living standards have improved dramatically, and China has become an economic power to be reckoned with. However, as a result of the one-child policy, China faces new problems: a looming demographic disaster as the population ages, social and psychological problems of the only-child generation, and criticism from overseas concerning human rights violations. After 30 years' of implementation, the government-established deadline for the policy is just around the corner, and a fierce debate rages over whether to keep the policy in place, or to abolish it.

Coming up, the latest views on the one-child policy, plus the reason why prison guards in Macao aren't up to scratch and an iconic image passed around on the web that turned out to be something else entirely. First though let's kick things off with Front Page – a quick look at the headlines China woke up to this morning.

Front Page
Japan Releases Detained Captain
China Investigates 4 Japanese
Missing Businesswoman In The Phillipines
One Child Policy Turns 30
Pressures Of China's Middle Class
Taiwan Agrees To Send Art To Mainland

The 11th of July is United Nations World Population Day, and in China it's a massive issue. But the country of the one-child policy is opening up to more discussion of population issues, as it looks to safeguard its economic progress. Andrew Livingstone has more.