Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1359

Gregarious and Direct: China’s Web Doorkeeper

Since taking over the State Internet Information Office in 2013 and becoming the director of a powerful Internet committee headed by President Xi Jinping last May, Mr. Lu Wei has ratcheted up restrictions in what is already the world’s most sophisticated system of online censorship. Read more

Teachers’ Strikes Spread Across Northeast China

Strikes by thousands of teachers frustrated by low salaries and mandatory payments to pension plans have spread across cities in northeast China, state news media reported on Monday. Read more

David Cameron steps into row over UK delegation’s Hong Kong visit

Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised China’s refusal to allow a UK parliamentary delegation to visit Hong Kong as a mistake that would only heighten international concerns about the political crisis in the former British colony. Read more

Britain must accept that Hong Kong is no longer a colony

For a Briton it is hard to know how to refer to Hong Kong – the blue-tinted complex of peninsula and islands that protrudes into the South China Sea. You reach automatically for the word “colony”, then you stop and try “former colony”, then “territory” instead. Thirty years after the UK and China reached agreement on Hong Kong’s future, and 17 years after the union flag was lowered over that

Hong Kong protest leader Joshua Wong goes on hunger strike

Joshua Wong, the 18 year-old leader of the student group Scholarism, announced that he and two female group members will refuse to eat until the city’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying restarts dialogues on electoral reform. Read more

Hong Kong crackdown reveals China’s fear of contagious rebellion

The harsh police crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, the most violent repression seen in the former British colony since the protests began earlier this year, will send a cold shiver of apprehension across a region already alarmed by the uncompromising policies of China’s bullish new leadership. Read more

World War II haunts Japan's future

Understanding what Japan is thinking or what it intends to do is difficult, if not near impossible, at the best of times, let alone now. Yet, if I were Japanese and worried about Beijing's rise, I would enact a simple policy of encirclement to recover Japan's primacy in Asia. Read more

The Chinese scientific revolution aims to tackle climate change

From where I stand, the future belongs to China. It will be a challenge for other countries to prioritize as well as China has. They have become the leader in many respects, we (the USA) are the followers. We are watching a Chinese scientific revolution before our very own eyes. Read more

Taiwan's premier resigns after election loss

The premier of Taiwan announced his resignation on Saturday after losing the first election since protests erupted over a controversial trade deal with mainland China. The move by Jiang Yi-huah sets the stage for significant turnover, and possibly reforms, in the East Asian island. Read more Chinese tourists flock to see elections

Chinese Artwork Brings Auction Record of $45 Million

A Chinese collector bought a Ming dynasty silk wall hanging for $45 million at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong, setting a record for a Chinese artwork sold at international auction. Read more