Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 174

In Retrospect: President George Bush Speaks On the Tiananmen Tragedy, June 5, 1989

"During the past few days, elements of the Chinese Army have been brutally suppressing popular and peaceful demonstrations in China. There has been widespread and continuing violence, many casualties, and many deaths. And we deplore the decision to use force, and I now call on the Chinese leadership publicly, as I have in private channels, to avoid violence and to return to their previous policy

Debt or Diplomacy? Inside China’s Controversial Loans to Sri Lanka, Laos, and Malaysia

In recent years, much of the discussion around China’s “debt-trap diplomacy” has come from U.S. media and political hawks. In May 2019, then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of using this approach, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an infrastructure project aimed at expanding China’s influence across Asia, Africa, and beyond. According to Pompeo, China uses

The Rise of the ‘Community With a Shared Future’: China’s Foreign Policy Hierarchy

In the 21st century, Chinese foreign policy has increasingly focused on building global partnerships and expanding its interests through strategic relationships with other nations. These relationships serve as geopolitical tools for wielding influence and power. Unlike traditional alliances, which typically involve formal defense treaties aimed at external adversaries, China has established a

Despite nationalistic rhetoric, Chinese are flocking to Japan

A survey by Tokyo-based Intersect Communications last month interviewed 556 Chinese respondents aged 10 to 60 years old via a WeChat poll, and found that 53.1% said Japan would be their first choice of tourism destination over the Oct. 1 National Day holiday period. Meanwhile, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization recently revealed that the Chinese make up the largest proportion of

Philippines slams alleged Chinese attack on Vietnamese fishermen

Manila on Friday joined Hanoi to denounce an alleged Chinese attack on a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea, saying such violence had no place in territorial disputes that embroil several countries. Vietnamese state media accused Chinese law enforcement personnel of boarding the fishing boat in the Paracel Islands and assaulting the crew last Sunday. But China denied that its forces

As communist China turns 75, can Xi fix its economy?

As China prepared to celebrate its Golden Week holiday and mark the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic, the ruling Communist Party rolled out a raft of measures aimed at boosting its ailing economy. The plans included help for the country's crisis-hit property industry, support for the stock market, cash handouts for the poor and more government spending.Shares in mainland China and Hong

Edmund Lin: Why It’s Time to Rename the South China Sea

The South China Sea is a strategic and resource-rich body of water that is known by various names, reflecting the region’s multifaceted historical, cultural, and geopolitical connections. The English term, which is most commonly used to refer to the waterway, came about due to the European interests in these seas as a trading route from Europe to Asia and China. To the Chinese, it is often

Elizabeth Economy: The 75-Year Quest to Make China Great Again

The transformation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the past 75 years from an impoverished, war-torn nation to a global power is an impressive story of both modern state-building and the creation of a new center of power in the international system. At home, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ruled without significant opposition since the country’s inception, hundreds of millions

Zhou Fengsuo: “Xi Jinping Is the Natural Product of an Evil System”

Zhou is a well-known activist for human rights in China. He survived the Tiananmen Square massacre and harbors no illusions: today, the situation is worse than ever.“Violence and fear are the weapons of the Chinese Communist government.” Zhou Fengsuo punctuates the syllables in slow, terse English and gets right to the point. He speaks without hesitation. His eyes are filled with memories.

Renaming Tibet “Xizang”: Are French Museums Backing Off?

After having been named and shamed for their abject subservience to Xi Jinping, Musée Guimet and Musée du quai Branly are trying to save their reputation. Or was it just a clerical mistake? A misunderstanding, perhaps? Having been accused of abjectly “bowing to China’s demands to rewrite history and erase peoples,” two leading Paris museums are trying to back off.What happened, exactly? On