Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 1423

My dear husband Liu Xiaobo, the writer China has put behind bars

Liu Xiaobo, author of the Charter 08 call for reform in China, was jailed for 11 years in December 2009. In a remarkable interview, his wife, Liu Xia, talks of their love and the passion for literature that has sustained them. Read more

Japan and China: Asian aggravation

What the already fraught relations between Japan and China needed was fresh provocation - but that is exactly what the Japanese prime minister has provided. His decision to visit the shrine at Yasukuni, which honours many considered by China and South Korea to be outright war criminals, has stirred up huge resentment in those nations. Read more

Yasukuni war shrine: what is its importance?

Key questions and answers about Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine, which has come back into focus after Japan's Abe enraged neighbours by visiting it. Read more

- Hensynsløst av Japans statsminister

Statsminister Shintaro Abe får kritikk fra mange hold etter sitt besøk i det omstridte Yasukuni-tempelet. Les mer

Human Rights in China: A Year of Trials

The human rights condition in China is getting worse, not better. Read more

China's relaxation of one-child policy to begin rolling out early next year

Changes to China's strict one-child policy that will allow more parents to have a second child will begin to roll out early next year, according to state media. The policy change is expected to go into force in some areas of China in the first quarter of 2014. Read more

The importance of Asia

The turn of the year is a season to reflect. By Aidan Foster-Carter.  Read more

Q. and A.: Detective Novelist Qiu Xiaolong on Chinese Corruption

Qiu Xiaolong, the detective novelist and poet, was in the middle of a talk in Beijing about his latest Inspector Chen novel, when a member of the audience jumped in with a question: Did Mr. Qiu think there were many undiscovered corpses in China these days as a result of crime and official corruption? Read more

Liu Ping’s Christmas in Jail

Liu Ping, a democracy advocate, doesn’t talk much about her Christian faith, preferring to talk about politics. But Christmas means something to her. This has been a very different kind of Christmas. Ms. Liu has been in jail awaiting a verdict on criminal charges, along with the fellow activists Wei Zhongping and Li Sihua. All three have been charged with “illegal assembly” for a gathering they

China Must Purge Mao's Ghost

Mao’s record was nothing short of a disaster: The Great Famine of 1958-61 — the result of a course of industrialization known as the Great Leap Forward — caused starvation not seen on a scale since Stalin’s collectivization. Meticulous research by the journalist Yang Jisheng and the historian Frank Dikötter has estimated the death toll at anywhere from 36 million to 45 million. Read more