Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1327

The Price of Damming Tibet’s Rivers

China is the most dammed nation on the planet. With more than 26,000 large dams within its borders, the country has more than the rest of the world combined. The dams feed China’s insatiable demand for energy and can potentially divert water for use in mining, manufacturing and agriculture. Read more

I Kina bor nesten hvert femte barn borte fra mor og far

Mer enn 70 prosent av de forlatte barna på den kinesiske landsbygda viser tegn til mentale problemer som angst og depresjon, ifølge en undersøkelse foretatt av Stanford University og sitert i The Wall Street Journal. Les mer

Ny bok: Myanmar, før hordene kommer

Kristoffer Rønneberg har fartet rundt i landet både før og etter generalenes hamskifte, og tar leseren med på en reise i håpets tegn. Han sammenligner situasjonen med 2010, da håpløsheten preget folks øyne mens de hvisket Aung San Suu Kyis navn, mens de i dag kan rope fra gatehjørnene, vanligvis uten frykt for å bli kastet i fengsel. I et nyhetsbilde preget av feilslåtte revolusjoner og

Lee Kuan Yew: Lessons for leaders from Asia's 'Grand Master'

The death of the founding father of Singapore last Monday is an appropriate occasion to reflect on nation building. As prime minister for its first three decades, Lee Kuan Yew raised a poor port from the bottom rungs of the third world to the first world in a single generation. Read more

Six Months Later, Small Protest Camp Grows Again in Hong Kong

An online tally said that as of Tuesday, there were 147 tents at the camp, nearly double the 78 that were counted on Dec. 16, after the mass sit-ins ended. The number is a sliver of the 1,817 tents present just before the protesters were removed from one of Hong Kong Island’s major thoroughfares, but the increase has prompted notice. Read more

Er han den siste Dalai Lama?

Det begynner å bli noen år siden jeg sto på Potala­palassets takterrasse i Lhasa og skuet ut over byen, dalføret og fjellene. Tibets hovedstad badet i sol, og bønneflaggene smalt i den kalde vinden. Omvisningen inkluderte et besøk i Dalas Lamas leilighet i palassets trettende etasje. «Leiligheten står slik Dalai Lama forlot den i 1959,» forsikret den kinesiske guiden. På et alter blafret noen

China Raids Offices of Rights Group as Crackdown on Activism Continues

Chinese security agents raided the offices of a leading human rights organization, according to its employees, the latest sign of the authorities’ mounting hostility toward nongovernmental groups, especially those that receive foreign funding or promote civic activism. Read more

Chinese Foreign Policy Comes of Age

Beijing, long content to sit on the sidelines of security issues beyond its borders, has finally come to see inaction as an even greater risk. Read more

Lee Kuan Yew: How did Asia remember him?

His exceptionally long tenure on the diplomatic stage, his brilliant intellect and ruthless pragmatism earned Lee the accolade of "statesman" from more world leaders than any other personality in the Asia Pacific region.But what about closer to home, in South East Asia? There, Lee Kuan Yew's image is more complex. Read more

China rejects calls to free women's rights activists

Foreign ministry spokesman says nobody has the right to ask China to release the group. The activists were planning public campaigns against sexual harassment. Read more