Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 158

National security officials meet with US telecom execs to share intel on Chinese cyber-espionage campaign, White House says

Top telecom executives met with US national security officials at the White House on Friday as concerns mount over a long-running Chinese cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted some of the most senior US political figures in the country. The hackers burrowed deep into some major US telecom providers to spy on phone calls and text messages and have proved difficult to kick out of some networks

US ahead in AI innovation, easily surpassing China in Stanford’s new ranking

The U.S. leads the world in developing artificial intelligence technology, surpassing China in research and other important measures of AI innovation, according to a newly released Stanford University index. There’s no surefire way to rank global AI leadership but Stanford researchers have made an attempt by measuring the “vibrancy” of the AI industry across various dimensions, from how much

Tariff hikes will backfire, and China can manage such ‘external shocks,’ a senior official s

Higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire, just increasing prices paid by consumers, while China can manage to weather the impact of such “external shocks,” a senior Commerce Ministry official said Friday in Beijing. Responding to a reporter’s question about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose 60% tariffs on imports from China, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said that

China is armed and ready for trade war 2.0 with Donald Trump

In the summer of 2018, when former President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Beijing, the Chinese economy was riding high. There was even talk it could soon overtake the United States as the world’s largest. Now, with Trump months away from retaking office, what had appeared to be a juggernaut has been greatly diminished. Contending with property, debt and deflation challenges, China

What happens when China puts boots on the ground in Myanmar?

 It now appears to be a question of “when, not if” Chinese security personnel will arrive in Myanmar, with Beijing looking to secure its strategic interests in the war-torn country and those of its ally, the military junta that has lost large chunks of the country since the 2021 coup. The Irrawaddy online news outlet reported that the junta formed a 13-member working committee on October 22

Cambodian trafficking victim describes forced marriage, abuse in China

Sok Suosdey had always worked hard to help support her family in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, on the border with Thailand, but no matter what she did, they remained poor. In 2016, things became even more dire when her family was saddled with repayment of a loan to a local bank.So when a neighbor approached her that year with the opportunity to make a higher salary in China, Sok Suosdey -

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