Northern Ireland Peace Accord.

The latest advancement towards peace between England and Ireland was the Northern Ireland Peace Accord. The peace agreement was put to referendums in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  The agreement states that Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom unless majorities north and south of the border choose unity. Voters in the Irish Republic will be asked to amend their constitution to drop the long-standing territorial claim to the whole island. The new wording will say unity will only be sought with the consent of a majority in both jurisdictions. The Northern Ireland accord will create three interconnected bodies of government within Northern Ireland, between the north and rest of Ireland, and between the Irish Republic and United Kingdom as a whole. The Key points are:

1. The sides promise to try to use their influence to bring about disarmament of paramilitary groups within two years, starting in June at the latest.

2. Britain promises to make progress toward demilitarization of Northern Ireland to normal peacetime levels, and remove all emergency powers.

3. An independent commission will make recommendations on policing.

4. The governments will speed up the release of prisoners for crimes tied to their affiliation to paramilitary groups that are maintaining an unequivocal cease-fire. Depending on the severity of their crimes, they will qualify for early release within two years from the start of the plan, probably in June.

The One-Family, One-Child policy in China

The One-Family, One-Child policy in China launched in 1979 has turned reproduction into an area of direct state intervention.  The new regime under Deng made the neo-Malthusian observation that the economic gains from reform were barely sufficient to accommodate a population of one billion, given the natural population growth rate of 1.26 percent, much less provide a base for advanced industrial development. The One-Family, One-Child campaigns have therefore targeted women to limit their childbearing as a "patriotic duty". The family planning policy is implemented by local units of the W.F., barefoot doctors and health workers who are mainly women. Each family is visited individually by members of the local family planning committee. After the first child, women are awarded a one-child certificate that entitles them to a number of privileges. Standard regulations concerning the type of birth control method employed require IUDs after one child, sterilization after the second one and abortion for unapproved pregnancies. The policy rests on a coercive system of sanctions and rewards. Economic sanctions include: payment of an "excess child levy" as compensation to the state for the cost of another child to the country; reduction in the family's grain ration (or higher prices) for producing a "surplus" child; limitations on additional land for private plots and the right to collective grain in times of flood and drought; and ineligibility for promotion for four years, demotion, or reduction in wages. Moreover, the offending couple has to bear all expenses for medical care and education of excess children, and "extra" children have the lowest priority in admission to kindergarten, school and medical institutions. In contrast, one-child families are entitled to many privileges including monthly or annual cash subsidies for health or welfare until the child reaches fourteen years of age; and additional private plots from the commune. Single children are entitled to free education, health services, and priority in admission to nurseries, schools and hospitals. Parents receive an additional subsidy to their old age pension.