Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 10

As More Chinese Seniors Live Alone, ‘Outsourced Children’ Step In

An increasingly popular market in China for “outsourced children” — services where strangers are hired to provide companionship and care for elderly people living alone — is sparking debate over the lack of regulation and potential legal risks. Promoted on second-hand trading platforms and social media, the services typically charge 200 to 500 yuan ($28 to $70) for tasks ranging from hospital

The Literature Professor Reframing China Narratives

Since the 1990s, Professor He Guimei has been researching constructions of China across contemporary literature. In her latest book, she challenges the way narratives frame “Chineseness” itself.Professor He Guimei is a quintessential academic. She has spent virtually her entire academic life at Peking University, advancing all the way to her Ph.D. and professorship since being accepted into the

AHEAD OF GLOBAL WOMEN’S SUMMIT IN BEIJING, MORE FEMINIST CONTENT BLOCKED ON WECHAT

In the run-up to the Global Women’s Summit slated for October in Beijing, which will mark the 30th anniversary of that city’s influential 1995 U.N. World Conference on Women, some WeChat accounts focused on feminism and women’s empowerment have been blocked or had their content deleted. Earlier this month, feminist blogger Jiang Chan   had her official WeChat account blocked. The account now

A Surrogacy Silk Road: Chinese Parents Head West for Babies

On the popular Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, an account called “Georgia Notes” offers tips and advice to Chinese nationals planning a trip to the Republic of Georgia. In one post, it warns “ordinary tourists traveling back to China” that their five-hour-long return flight from Tbilisi to Ürümchi, in Xinjiang, is likely to be crowded with crying newborn babies.

China Wants America out of Pacific, Former Pentagon Official Warns

Analysts raised alarm bells on Capitol Hill over China’s coercive behavior, warning that Beijing’s ultimate objective is to erode U.S. influence and dominate the Asia-Pacific region. At the center of these ambitions are so-called “gray-zone activities”—coercive actions that stop short of open warfare—according to Ely Ratner, principal of the Marathon Initiative think tank and a former senior

Chinese Warships Sail Near US Ally Into North Pacific

China has expanded its naval presence in the North Pacific after one of its spy ships was spotted transiting a waterway between Japan's main islands, according to a report. Regarding China's maritime activities around Japan, the country's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it will continue to conduct surveillance and gather intelligence.China has built the world's largest navy by hull count,

India has a festival where a Hindu goddess slays a demon. This year the demon is Trump

Sitting atop her lion, the Hindu goddess Durga wields a celestial weapon in each of her 10 hands. But her target isn’t the usual demon of deceit, Mahishasura. She’s taking aim at a different perceived foe representing the forces of evil: a striking figure with a blond coif, a rippling torso and a face modeled on US President Donald Trump.Unveiled last week in the eastern Indian state of West

THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT: At 250, the Revolution’s goals remain noble and indispensable.

"A magazine, when properly conducted, is the nursery of genius; and by constantly accumulating new matter, becomes a kind of market for wit and utility.”Thomas Paine made this (true) statement in 1775, in the first issue of The Pennsylvania Magazine, for which he served as editor. In this same manifesto, he had unkind words for the magazine’s older cousins. “The British magazines, at their

British and Indian Aircraft Carriers Make History

The United Kingdom and India conducted their first-ever dual aircraft carrier operation during a bilateral military exercise in the Indian Ocean this week, as both nations have been alarmed by China's increasingly assertive behavior across the Indo-Pacific region.China, which has built the world's largest naval and coast guard fleets by hull count, is expanding its presence at sea, including

US Allies’ Joint Training Could Anger China

Japan is set to institutionalize coast guard training with neighboring Taiwanamid simmering territorial tensions with China, which has stepped up its presence in disputed waters.The move by Japan, a U.S. defense treaty ally, and Taiwan, a U.S. security partner and major purchaser of American weapons, is likely to rile China, which strongly opposes official exchanges between other countries and