Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1309

Tiananmen Mothers urge China to bear responsibility for crimes

A group of families demanding justice for victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown declared that the government must bear responsibility for historical crimes in the same way it has called on Japan to do so for its wartime past. Read more

Aung San Suu Kyi Comes Under Fire For Silence On Rohingyas

Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi came under increasing criticism this week for failing to speak out on the plight of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority who are at the center of a regional refugee crisis, with friends voicing disappointment and former admirers blaming her silence on political concerns. “It’s very sad,” Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama told the

Decisions by Captain in Yangtze Ship Disaster Come Under Scrutiny

Up ahead, a violent lightning storm lit up the dark sky and rain pounded ships on the Yangtze River. At 5 p.m. on Monday, the local maritime bureau sent a notice intended for all vessels, warning them to expect heavy rain and thunderstorms for the next six hours. Read more

How Deng Xiaoping Helped Create a Corrupt China

For the past month, I have been banned from giving interviews, and so I am offering this essay to mark the 26th anniversary of the crackdown of June 4, 1989, when the authorities suppressed dissent in cities across China. Read more

Japanske selskaper flykter fra Kina

Et økende antall japanske selskaper legger ned fabrikker i Kina og forlater verdens nest største økonomi. Diskriminering mot utenlandske selskaper og høyt kostnadsnivå er blant årsakene. Les mer

Should U.S. worry about China's island building binge?

So far, China has built up some 2,000 acres -- the equivalent of about 1,500 football fields -- worth of territory on submerged reefs and rocks. As the building has continued, the threat to freedom of navigation -- including the United States -- has increased. Read more

Oriental Star Accident Highlights Increase in Safety Problems on Yangtze Cruises

For much of recorded history, traveling up the Yangtze meant braving turbulent currents and shoals. In recent years, a more prosaic risk has been growing: poorly maintained ships and inexperienced crews. Read more

Hollywood in China: Selling Out or Cashing In?

China’s film market, growing by around 35 percent a year, is now the second largest in the world, with expectations that it will surpass the flat North American market (the U.S. and Canada) within three years. Read more

Beijing’s Formidable Strategy in the South China Sea

China seems driven to expand by perceived injustices related to the international settlement of its territories. Beijing vividly recalls how China was humiliated at the two peace conferences at the end of the two world wars. At the end of World War I, the German-held Chinese territory of Shandong peninsula was transferred to Japan at the Paris Peace conference in 1919, protests over which

Internet freedom is coming under increasing pressure across East Asia

Seven out of the 11 East Asian countries assessed in the latest edition of Freedom on the Net, Freedom House’s annual index of Internet freedom around the world, declined compared to the previous year: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Only two – Myanmar and Malaysia – improved, while Japan and Cambodia’s performance remained consistent. Read