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‘Memory of Egypt’...Prominent Figures, Heritage

The Memory of Egypt releases a new issue every three months - Asharq Al-Awsat
The Memory of Egypt releases a new issue every three months - Asharq Al-Awsat
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‘Memory of Egypt’...Prominent Figures, Heritage

The Memory of Egypt releases a new issue every three months - Asharq Al-Awsat
The Memory of Egypt releases a new issue every three months - Asharq Al-Awsat

The 46th issue of the Memory of Egypt magazine released by the Library of Alexandria, highlighted heritage features from the Egyptian society characterized with cultural diversity and richness, in addition to exploring the centennials of many historic figures and events.

In the issue’s introduction, Dr. Mostafa al-Feki, head of the library, writes about two great figures who left our world in the past few years, Pedagogist Dr. Hamed Ammar, and Islamic philosophy professor and former minister of Endowments Dr. Mahmoud Hamdy Zakzouk.

According to al-Feki, they both represented a vital example of creativity in their fields given their contributions in the movements of religious and civil education.

The issue also featured a number of articles, including “Judicature between Literature and Egyptian Cinema…Standing on the Edge of Reality” by Judge and novelist Ashraf al-Ashmawy; “Centennial of Hamed Ammar, Teacher of the Poor” by Dr. Kamal Mughith; “Raya and Sakina…Case that Fascinated Egyptians for 100 Years” by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sameh Fawzi; “Route to Sidi Fathallah al-Ajami” by Dr. Mohammed Suleiman; “Queen Farida…Centennial of a Queen that Owned Egyptians’ Hearts” by researcher Mohammed Ghanima; “Popular Anniversary Celebrations…Tolerance Message from Egypt” by Dr. Doaa Bahieddine; “Alexandria and Golden Age of Cinema” by journalist Mohammed al-Malihi; “Neighborhoods, Lanes of Cairo in Modern Age” by Dr. Kamal Jamal Mahmoud; and “Scenes of Egyptian Cultural Diversity” by Dr. Sahar Hassan Ahmed.

This issue is a contribution to the magazine’s strategy in shedding lights on the different life aspect in Egypt, the creative historic and cultural manifestations, and the country’s connection to the Arab and international horizons.

Former issues contributing to this strategy include a special edition on the Nile which placed special emphasis on the river’s origins, myths, geographic features and popular heritage, and another that focused on the history of Egyptian summering. The magazine is also preparing a special issue on the civil work in the country in line with this year’s theme “2022: Year of Civil Society.”

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Varieties

China's Population Falls for 3rd Straight Year

A delivery worker sits on a delivery vehicle along a street in Beijing on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
A delivery worker sits on a delivery vehicle along a street in Beijing on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
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China's Population Falls for 3rd Straight Year

A delivery worker sits on a delivery vehicle along a street in Beijing on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
A delivery worker sits on a delivery vehicle along a street in Beijing on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

China's population fell last year for the third straight year, its government said Friday, pointing to further demographic challenges for the world's second most populous nation, which is now facing both an aging population and an emerging shortage of working age people.
China's population stood at 1.408 billion at the end of 2024, a decline of 1.39 million from the previous year, The Associated Press reported.
The figures announced by the government in Beijing follow trends worldwide, but especially in East Asia, where Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and other nations have seen their birth rates plummet. China three years ago joined Japan and most of Eastern Europe among other nations whose population is falling.
The reasons are in many cases similar: Rising costs of living are causing young people to put off or rule out marriage and child birth while pursuing higher education and careers. While people are living longer, that's not enough to keep up with rate of new births.
Countries such as China that allow very little immigration are especially at risk.
China has long been among the world’s most populous nations, enduring invasions, floods and other natural disasters to sustain a population that thrived on rice in the south and wheat in the north. Following the end of World War II and the Communist Party’s rise to power in 1949, large families re-emerged and the population doubled in just three decades, even after tens of millions died in the Great Leap Forward that sought to revolutionize agriculture and industry and the Cultural Revolution that followed a few years later.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution and leader Mao Zedong's death, Communist bureaucrats began to worry the country’s population was outstripping its ability to feed itself and began implementing a draconian “one child policy.” Though it was never law, women had to apply for permission to have a child and violators could face forced late-term abortions and birth control procedures, massive fines and the prospect of their child being deprived an identification number, effectively making them non-citizens.
Rural China, where the preference for male offspring was especially strong and two children were still ostensibly allowed, became the focus of government efforts, with women forced to present evidence they were menstruating and buildings emblazoned with slogans such as “have fewer children, have better children."
The government sought to stamp out selective abortion of female children, but with abortions legal and readily available, those operating illicit sonogram machines enjoyed a thriving business.
That has been the biggest factor in China’s lopsided sex ratio, with as many as millions more boys born for every 100 girls, raising the possibility of social instability among China’s army of bachelors. Friday’s report gave the sex imbalance as 104.34 men to every 100 women, though independent groups give the imbalance as considerably higher.
More disturbing for the government was the drastically falling birthrate, with China’s total population dropping for the first time in decades in 2023 and China being narrowly overtaken by India as the world’s most populous nation in the same year. A rapidly aging population, declining workforce, lack of consumer markets and migration abroad are putting the system under severe pressure.
While spending on the military and flashy infrastructure projects continues to rise, China’s already frail social security system is teetering, with increasing numbers of Chinese refusing to pay into the underfunded pension system.
Already, more than one-fifth of the population is aged 60 or over, with the official figure given as 310.3 million or 22% of the total population. By 2035, this number is forecast to exceed 30%, sparking discussion of changes to the official retirement age, which one of the lowest in the world. With fewer students, some vacant schools and kindergartens are meanwhile being transformed into care facilities for older people.
Such developments are giving some credence to the aphorism that China, now the world’s second largest economy but facing major headwinds, will “grow old before it grows rich.”
Government inducements including cash payouts for having up to three children and financial help with housing costs have had only temporary effects.
Meanwhile, China continued its transition to an urban society, with 10 million more people moving to cities for an urbanization rate of 67%, up almost a percentage point from the previous year.