Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 140

Shanghai factory workers block major highway over layoff payouts

Hundreds of workers at an automotive trim company in Shanghai blocked a major highway in the city amid a protest over plans for mass layoffs on Wednesday, RFA Mandarin’s Labor Bulletin reported. The workers from the state-owned Shanghai Guoli Automotive Leather Decoration Co. scuffled with police as traffic backed up on the Husong Highway, according to video clips of the standoff posted to social

European Union approves regulation aimed at stopping Uyghur forced labor

The European Union has approved regulations forbidding the sale of products made with forced labor, a move that activists hope will rein in the abusive practice among Uyghurs in Xinjiang as well as in North Korea and other countries around the world.  The Forced Labor Regulation was approved on Tuesday, the last step in a decision-making procedure that began four years ago, the EU said in a

Torbjørn Færøvik: Taiwan - en øy i evig storm?

Da portugisiske sjøfarere vasset i land på Taiwan i 1542, kalte de oppdagelsen «Ilha Formosa» - Den vakre øya. I dag er den ikke bare vakker, men også et brennpunkt i Asia og verden. En storkrig med utgangspunkt i Taiwan er slett ikke utenkelig. Kristoffer Rønnebergs ferske bok om Taiwan heter «Stormens øy – Kampen om Taiwan og demokratiets fremtid». Forfatteren er kjent som en dyktig

China Set To Lose Over 50 Million People in Population Crisis

China is expected to lose over 50 million people in the next decade as its population decline accelerates, according to a new analysis. By 2025, China's population is projected to drop from its 2021 peak of 1.41 billion to 1.36 billion, Ada Li, a senior industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a forecast based on United Nations data.China's efforts, including ending its decades-old

China’s richest man blasts tech giants and government inaction in rare rebuke

China’s richest man has hit out at online shopping platforms, accusing them of starting price wars that have damaged a wide range of companies and industries as the country tackles an economic slump. And in extremely rare remarks that have been largely censored by state media, Zhong Shanshan, founder of drinks company Nongfu Springs, also took aim at the Chinese government, saying it was “

Children make up nearly 40% of Myanmar’s 3.4 million displaced: UN

Children make up nearly 40% of the more than 3.4 million people displaced in Myanmar due to the civil war, UNICEF said Thursday. The findings from United Nations Children’s Fund came as an organization that monitors conflict in Myanmar said the ruling junta and affiliated groups have killed more than 670 children since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat, sparking the

Questions raised over Chinese ship seen near undersea Baltic cables

Questions have been raised over the activities of a Chinese ship currently in the company of a Danish naval patrol vessel after being spotted near two undersea internet cables that were cut in the Baltic Sea on Sunday and Monday. The Ningbo-registered Yi Peng 3 is currently anchored in a Kattegat, an area of sea off Denmark known informally as “NATO Lake,” in close proximity to a Danish naval

Who is Bo Guagua – and why do China watchers care about his wedding?

He has not been heard from for over 10 years, but the news of his engagement this month has made a splash from Taipei to (probably) Tiananmen.Bo Guagua, a once high-profile son of the Chinese political elite whose notorious family drama both shocked and shaped the country’s politics today, touched down in Taiwan last week to make a pilgrimage familiar to many young people: to visit his future

China reels after string of public stabbings, car attacks

China is reeling in the wake of a number of attacks on members of the public in recent weeks, including a fatal car attack at a stadium in the southern port city of Zhuhai this month that left 35 people dead and dozens more injured. Since then, further violence has been making the headlines, including stabbings on two college campuses at the weekend and a car attack on students at a primary

Tibetan environmentalist released after serving nearly 15 years in prison

 A prominent Tibetan art collector and environmental activist who was sentenced to prison in 2010 has been released after serving nearly 15 years amid deteriorating health and is expected to remain under strict surveillance, three sources told Radio Free Asia. Karma Samdrub, 56, was arrested by Chinese authorities in January 2010 and sentenced by the Yangi County Court in Xinjiang later that