Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 159

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

‘It’s impossible to breathe’: Life in the world’s most polluted city

Inside Delhi’s first ever clinic dedicated to pollution-related illnesses, Deepak Rajak struggles to catch his breath. The 64-year-old’s asthma has worsened in recent days, and his daughter rushed him to the clinic, anxious about his rapidly deteriorating health. Sitting in the waiting room, Rajak tells CNN he has become “very breathless” and cannot stop coughing. “It’s impossible to breathe. I

Hong Kong hears from jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai for the first time in four years at his trial

Jimmy Lai, the pugnacious Hong Kong media tycoon whose now shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, took the stand Wednesday in his own defense for the first time in a high stakes national security trial that could send him to prison for life.The 77 year-old, known for his decades-long support of the city’s pro-democracy movement and outspoken criticism of China’s

Trump might nix America as a climate tech leader. 5 charts show China winning that race

Hgh above the sand dunes of China’s Kubuqi desert, nearly 200,000 solar panels have been carefully placed in rows to create the outline of a galloping steed. The giant horse is a cultural symbol for Inner Mongolia, the northern Chinese region where the massive Junma solar farm is located — but it also signifies the speed at which China is racing toward a clean energy future.China is installing

In Retrospect: The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984

The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treatybetween the governments of the United Kingdom and People’s Republic of China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after 1 July 1997.Hong Kong had been a colony of the British Empiresince 1842 after the First Opium War and its territory was expanded on two