SHANGHAI – China’s new policy allowing families to have two children, up from one, has been reverberating across the country as municipalities race to help expectant mothers stay in the workforce, then look after their newborns.

Female workers in China are entitled to up to 98 days of maternity leave. But already at least 13 local governments have decided to give moms additional days off, ranging from 30 more to 80 more, according to Chinese media reports.

This city of almost 25 million earlier this month revised its ordinance to give an additional 30 days of maternity leave above the 98 called for by the central government. The ordinance also allows male workers to take up to 10 days of paternity leave.

In Fujian Province, mothers can take up to 180 child-bearing days, while dad can take 15 days after a baby is born.

Shanxi Province, meanwhile has introduced a measure to encourage people to tie the knot. One enticement is mandating that employers give newlyweds 30 extra holidays to play with. In addition, new mothers will be guaranteed 158 days of maternity leave, according to Chinese media reports.

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JAKARTA – Hoping to boost tax revenue, Indonesia is mulling a new regulation that will require Google, Facebook and Twitter and other foreign online service providers to obtain a “permanent establishment” status in the country.

A permanent establishment means foreign companies will need to “establish a company in Indonesia, a joint venture in Indonesia, or enter into co-operation with cellular operators,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara told reporters on Tuesday.

The regulation will apply to companies that provide services such as messaging, voice and streaming video over the networks of telecommunication companies. Rudiantara estimated that there are about 20 major companies that fall under this category including Google, which runs the video sharing site YouTube, Facebook, the owner of messaging app WhatsApp, and microblogging service Twitter.

Many of these companies have set up representative offices in Jakarta in recent years, and some have established legal entities. But Rudiantara said they need to “increase their presence” partly because their advertisement revenues are not properly taxed. Currently, payments and settlements for ads are made in jurisdictions outside Indonesia with lower tax rates, Rudiantara said.

Rudiantara has previously told local media that companies failing to comply with the new regulations may be barred from mobile networks. Since late January, the state-owned telecommunication company has been blocking US-based Netflix’s video streaming service after it launched in Indonesia. But since services like YouTube and Twitter are widely used, even among government officials, it is unclear whether Indonesia would enforce similar blocks under the new regulation. It is also unclear whether setting up a local company would help generate more taxes for the Indonesian government.

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TSU, Japan – The city of Iga in central Japan said Thursday that it will recognise same-sex partnerships as equivalent to marriage, becoming the third local government to take a step to eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities.

The city in Mie Prefecture will issue certificates starting April 1, following Tokyo’s Shibuya and Setagaya wards, which introduced similar systems last year. Several other municipalities in the country are expected to follow suit.

Same-sex marriages are not legal in Japan, and couples often face difficulties when looking for housing or visiting a partner in hospital as they are not considered family members.

“It is a step forward to realise a diverse society,” Iga Mayor Sakae Okamoto said in a notice posted in front of the city hall.

Mie is to host this year’s Group of Seven summit. “Addressing the human rights issue of LGBT people from a global perspective is very meaningful,” Okamoto said, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.

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