Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 124

Just before bankruptcy, Party City sent employees to meet suppliers in China: ‘You sent us there and you left us out to dry’

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2024, six members of Party City’s product development and sourcing teams left New Jersey for their annual trip to mainland China to meet with the company’s suppliers, who make practically everything the party store sells – from the mylar balloons at the front of the store to the aisles upon aisles of birthday, graduation and Halloween party decorations at the

A filmmaker made a documentary about protests in China. Now he’s sentenced to more than 3 years in prison

A Chinese filmmaker has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his documentary about China’s nationwide protests against Covid lockdowns in late 2022, as Beijing seeks to erase public memories of stunning scenes of dissent against its handling of the pandemic. Chen Pinlin was sentenced by a Shanghai court on Monday following a three-hour trial behind closed doors, a person

Brazil Scrutinizes BYD Labor-Rights Violations, Straining Ties with China

One of Brazil’s most high-profile Chinese investors has become embroiled in a scandal that threatens to upend its presence in the country. Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD was building a factory in Brazil’s northeast state of Bahia—which would be BYD’s biggest EV plant outside Asia, with a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year—when government authorities ordered a halt to

Philippines says China’s ‘monster’ ship on a mission to intimidate

The Philippines has deployed vessels and aircraft to closely monitor a gigantic Chinese coast guard ship – the world’s largest – in waters off Luzon island, Filipino officials said, describing the ship as a menacing presence in its exclusive economic zone. The 12,000-ton China Coast Guard vessel 5901, known as “The Monster” for its sheer size, was last seen on Saturday about 54 nautical miles

Russia, North Korea lost ‘up to a battalion’ of soldiers in Kursk: Zelenskyy

 Russian and North Korean forces “lost up to a battalion of infantry” in two days of battles near the village of Makhnovka in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, estimating total North Korean casualties at about 3,800. Up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine in Kursk, Ukraine and the U.S. say, but neither

Chinese Diaspora in the U.S. Braces for Trump’s Second Term

Like other marginalized groups in the U.S., Chinese migrants and students are anxiously preparing for the policy changes under a second presidential term of Donald Trump. The president-elect has promised to implement mass deportation that would target millions of people, and top figures in his orbit have backed plans, targeting China, to purge “un-American” elements from the body politic. Many in

2024’s Most Notable Censored Articles and Essays (Part 2)

China Digital Times' editors are compiling a series of the most notable content (Chinese) from across the Chinese internet over the past year. Topics include this year’s most outstanding quotes, reports, podcasts and videos, sensitive words, censored articles and essays, “People of the Year,” and CDT’s “2024 Editors’ Picks.”In this Part 2 post about 2024’s most notable censored articles and

Robert Barnett: The Tibetan Government-in-Exile Has a New Strategy

An unexpected development has taken place in the seven-decades-long dispute between the Tibetan exile leadership and China’s government. In early July, for the first time since 2010, Chinese authorities reportedly held direct talks with the exile Tibetan political leadership, based in Dharamsala, India. The meeting in July followed a year or more of back-channel contacts of some kind.These talks

Laos must appease China or embrace austerity to reduce staggering debt

The communist apparatchiks who run Laos must appease China if they are to stop their national debt crisis from worsening and avoid an outright default. The IMF’s latest report on Laos, released last month, was particularly damning about the country’s future. Real GDP growth likely peaked this year, at around 4.1 percent, and will slide from 3.5 percent next year down to 2.5 percent by 2029.In

Xi Jinping’s talk of ‘rainbows’ belies simmering public anger over China’s economy

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the new year with an upbeat speech to the nation complete with rainbows, claims of economic recovery and concern for the struggles of ordinary Chinese that commentators said belied simmering public anger over his handling of the economy. “Together, we have experienced winds and rains and seen rainbows,” Xi told the nation in a speech marking the start to 2025