Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 103

Philippine envoy: Manila’s defense alliance with Washington ‘remains intact’

The Philippines’ bilateral defense agreements with the United States are intact and Manila expects to receive a big infusion of outstanding military aid from its longtime ally, Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to Washington, told reporters. An infusion of US$336 million earmarked by Washington as part of its Foreign Military Financing Assistance program to the Southeast Asian

Thailand considers building a wall on its border with Cambodia

Thailand is considering building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to tackle illegal crossings, particularly by gangsters involved in online scam centers and drug smugglers, a government spokesman said on Monday. There was no immediate comment from Cambodia on the proposal but the neighbors have a long-standing and bitter dispute over part of their 817 kilometer (507 miles) land border,

Xi warns of economic ‘difficulties’ ahead of National People’s Congress

Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping has warned of “many difficulties and challenges” for China’s economy ahead of the annual session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing this week. In an article published in the ideological party journal Qiushi on Monday -- two days before the congress opens -- Xi warned of the “many risks and hidden dangers” facing China’s economy, before alluding

Languages in Tibet Struggle for Survival

Friday marked the 25th International Mother Language Day, a UNESCO observance for promoting the preservation and protection of linguistic diversity. For Tibetan communities on the Tibetan plateau and in the diaspora, the issue is existential, as various structural forces continue to erode the health of their respective languages and cultures. Much of this problem stems directly from repressive

Xi Jinping’s Purges Have Escalated. Here’s Why They Are Unlikely to Stop

The final months of 2024 witnessed a new wave of purges in Xi Jinping’s China. On November 28, the Defense Ministry announced the suspension from his duties of Admiral Miao Hua, the number four military leader below Xi, who oversaw the political and organizational work of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Miao’s ouster makes him the third PLA general in charge of political and

Torbjørn Færøvik: Da formann Mao møtte den allmektige Josef Stalin

På himmelen skinner bare én sol. Men er det plass til to?I 1949 opprettet Mao Folkerepublikken Kina etter mange års krig. Stalin sendte sine varmeste gratulasjoner, men forholdet mellom dem hadde aldri vært særlig godt.Stalin betraktet Mao med mistro og hadde ved en anledning omtalt ham som «margarinkommunist». Mao hadde jo seiret ved hjelp av fattige bønder, og ikke klassebevisste arbeidere –

How a CIA informant stopped Taiwan from developing nuclear weapons

In January 1988, one of Taiwan’s most senior nuclear engineers defected to the United States after passing crucial intelligence on a top-secret program that would alter the course of Taiwan’s history. Colonel Chang Hsien-yi was a leading figure in Taiwan’s nuclear weapons project, a closely guarded secret between the 1960s and ‘80s, as Taipei raced to develop its first nuclear bomb to keep pace

PST: Nasjonal trusselvurdering 2025

"Kinesisk etterretning forsøker å få innsyn i politiske beslutningsprosesser og å kartlegge lokale og nasjonale beslutningstakere og per soner som kritiserer Kina. For å oppnå dette vil Kina fortsette å utføre cyberspionasje mot norske myndigheter, virksomheter og organisasjoner. Kinesisk etterretning vil også forsøke å rekrut tere norske borgere for å få tilgang til sensitiv og gradert

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025

"Over a decade into President Xi Jinping’s rule, efforts to centralize control has led to heightened repression throughout the country. There is no independent civil society, no freedom of expression, association, assembly or religion, and human rights defenders and other perceived critics of the government are persecuted. The government considers the culturally and ethnically distinct Tibetans

I survived Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party’s purges. What's happening in the US now reminds me of the CCP’s Central Cultural Revolution Group.

Watching the Trump administration’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” bulldoze through government institutions, I cannot help but be reminded of the Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG), a pivotal organization in the early years of China’s Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976. I was three years old when the Cultural Revolution was launched by the Chinese Communist Party’s