Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 130

China’s Xi swears in new leader of casino hub Macao, telling the city to diversify economy

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the casino hub of Macao to diversify its economy as he swore in the former Portuguese colony’s new government on Friday at an event marking the 25th anniversary of its handover to China. New Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai — Macao’s first leader born in mainland China — vowed to address the territory’s unbalanced and uncoordinated economic development.Since its 1999

China is building the world’s largest artificial island airport

China is adding yet another superlative to its aviation roster: the world’s largest airport on a man-made island. Currently under construction off the country’s northeast coast, the Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport will eventually cover a 20-square-kilometer (7.7-square-mile) island with four runways and a 900,000-square-meter (969,000 sq ft) passenger terminal, according to anIts

Swedish police board Chinese ship in probe over severed cables

Swedish police said on Thursday they had boarded the Yi Peng 3 vessel, which is at the center of an investigation into Baltic Sea cable breaches, at the invitation of the Chinese authorities. The Chinese bulk carrier is wanted in Sweden for questioning over a breach of two undersea fiber-optic cables in November, and has been stationary in waters nearby for a month while diplomats in Stockholm

EXPLAINED: What are China’s plans for Macau?

Chinese President Xi Jinping left Macau on Friday after a three-day ceremonial visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the former Portuguese enclave’s handover to Chinese rule, after laying out his vision for the role the gambling hub will play in his plans to boost China’s flagging economy.“Macau is a shining pearl inlaid on the coast of the South China Sea and a treasured part of our great

‘Unprecedented’ Russia-China ties based on ‘full trust’: Putin

Russia and China have developed relations to an unprecedented level based on “full trust” and they almost always coordinate international action, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his annual press conference. Relations between Russia and China had reached “a point that has never existed throughout our entire history” in both level and quality, Putin told Russian and foreign journalists, as

Video captures abuse of Tibetan student by Chinese principal

A disturbing video has emerged showing a teacher slapping, pushing down and pulling the ear of a Tibetan student in front of other students gathered on what appears to be a sports field. The video, which contains no sound, was contained in a report released by the Tibet Action Institute, an advocacy group based in North America, on Dec. 16. The incident was filmed on or before Nov. 18, according

Massive new Tibetan dictionary to help protect against Chinese encroachment

A new 223-volume Tibetan dictionary containing definitions of over 300,000 words presented to the Library of Congress last week will play a key role in preserving the Tibetan language amid China’s assimilation policies in the region, U.S. lawmakers and advocates said. The Monlam Grand Tibetan Dictionary project, which began in 2012 under the advice and guidance of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan

China now has more than 600 nuclear warheads, Pentagon says

China’s military is now in possession of more than 600 operational nuclear warheads, according to a new report from the Pentagon, tripling its estimated arsenal in just four years.  Beijing plans to continue building its stockpile through to at least 2035, the report says, and is on track to “probably” have 1,000 warheads by 2030 as part of an effort to be able to “dissuade, deter, or if

Taiwan gets first batch of ‘world’s most advanced’ tanks from US

Taiwan has received 38 M1A2T tanks from the United States, the first U.S. tanks for the island in 23 years, and the first batch of an expected 122 due to arrive over the next two years. While many defense experts rate the M1A2T as the world’s most advanced main battle tank, some also question whether it is suitable for Taiwan’s relatively confined, built-up spaces and its mountainous terrain.Eric

New York man pleads guilty to helping run ‘secret Chinese police station’

Manhattan resident Chen Jinping has pleaded guilty to a charge in federal court related to running a secret Chinese police station in New York. Chen Jinping, a U.S. citizen, had assisted with administrative tasks at the hidden outpost in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 2022. According to U.S. prosecutors, it was set up by officials at China’s Fuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, a branch of its