Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1352

China media: Praise for investigation against Ling Jihua

State-run China News Service reiterates Mr Xi's tough stance on graft and praises the leadership for being courageous to adopt a "zero-tolerance" attitude towards corrupt officials. Read more

Chinese Viewers Mostly Give Thumbs Up for ‘The Interview’

“Perfect, the greatest film in history, all hail Sony,” read one online comment. Said another, “Their ability to amuse is out of this galaxy,” referring to the film’s stars, Seth Rogen and James Franco. Read more

Why Christmas Is Huge in China

There’s a joke going around: “Santa Claus was descending into China from the sky. Due to the heavy smog, he fell to the ground, but no one dared help him up. While he was still lying in the snow, his bag was ransacked for presents, and his reindeer and sleigh taken away by the chengguan. Therefore, no Christmas this year.” Read more

9-åring ber presidenten slanke seg - Kina sensurerer brevet

"Du kan lgodt slanke deg. Du behøver ikke se ut som Obama, det er greit å se ut som Putin." Les mer

A cyber conflict with North Korea is 'dangerous uncharted territory'

t's a brave new world. We now have a situation where it's entirely possible you've got third-party hackers possibly helping the North Koreans in the original Sony hack, entirely possibly taking down the North Korean internet, who are beyond the control of any government. And that makes it much, much harder to assess, writes CNNs Mike Chinoy. Read more

China signals a change in priorities, raising the risk of tension with the developed world

China’s decision to elevate in priority its relationship with its neighbors over that with the United States and other great powers, confirmed at the recently concluded Central Work Conference on Foreign Relations, heralds a major shift in its diplomacy, writes Timothy Heath, senior analyst at the Rand Corporation. Read more

Chinese Annoyance With North Korea Bubbles to the Surface

When a retired Chinese general with impeccable Communist Party credentials recently wrote a scathing account of North Korea as a recalcitrant ally headed for collapse and unworthy of support, he exposed a roiling debate in China about how to deal with the country’s young leader,Kim Jong-un. Read more

China considers curbs on tobacco advertising

China is considering tough curbs on tobacco advertising as the world’s top consumer of cigarettes looks to kick the habit, state media reported on Monday. Read more

Corruption pervades fast-growing economies of China, Turkey and Angola

China, Turkey and Angola – whose GDPs all grew by more than 4% last year – fell furthest in Transparency International’s 2014 corruption perception index, which measures the perceived levels of public-sector corruption worldwide. Read more

China targets senior official in corruption crackdown

Chinese anti-corruption authorities have placed Ling Jihua, a top aide to the former president Hu Jintao, under investigation for graft, state media reported. Ling, 58, is under investigation for “suspected serious disciplinary violation” – almost always shorthand for corruption – the state newswire Xinhua said in a terse report, without giving further details. Read more