This Day, That Year

Item from March 4, 1994, in China Daily: Nafsiah Mboi, member of Indonesia's Parliament, questions speakers on how to coordinate efforts to control the swelling population throughout the Asia-Pacific region, during the Asia-Pacific population seminar in Beijing.

Premier Li Peng yesterday called for greater regional cooperation to stem the population tide sweeping across Asia - home to 60 percent of the world's populace. He pledged that China will continue its efforts at population control ... those efforts help develop the economy and improve people's daily lives.

China's population by the end of last year was 1.18 billion, according to newly published statistics. The birth rate fell from 33.43 per thousand in 1970 - before the family planning measures - to 18.09 in 1993.