Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 178

China’s ethnic policy chief says minority artists must focus on common national identity

China’s top ethnic policy official has criticised “self-centred” artworks about ethnic minorities and said that they should focus on the common national identity. As an example, he criticised an unspecified Tibetan-language movie for only focusing on the spiritual world while not giving Communist Party credit for building the region’s infrastructure. Pan Yue, director of the National Ethnic

Taiwan is making a TV show about a Chinese invasion. And it’s hitting close to home

Following a military blockade, panic and chaos rip through a besieged island: residents scramble to withdraw cash, foreign nationals rush to be evacuated, riots break out in prisons and television networks are hacked into broadcasting enemy propaganda. These fictitious scenes have stirred emotion and imagination in Taiwan over what an imminent Chinese invasion may look like, since their release

China’s internet explodes with pride at ending US swim relay reign – and a sense of vindication

China’s internet exploded with joy and pride Monday after the country’s swimmers ended the United States’ decades-long reign in the men’s 4x100 meters medley at the Olympics, a spectacular win for a Chinese team that has faced intense scrutiny in the wake of a doping controversy. Pan Zhanle, who set the world record in the 100m freestyle last week, powered China from third position into the lead

China moon samples reveal water molecules in groundbreaking discovery, scientists say

As Chinese scientists analyzed the soil samples that their lunar probe brought back from the moon, they realized something groundbreaking: There was water found along with minerals in the soil. Finding water on the moon is, on its own, nothing new. NASA and Indian spacecraft have spotted what they believe to be water on the moon’s surface, and Chinese scientists last year found water trapped in

Can India help its special ally Bangladesh defuse the crisis?

The dramatic resignation of Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her flight to India ironically underscore the close ties between the two countries. Ms Hasina ruled Bangladesh, a nation of 170 million, for close to 15 years until a protest by students to abolish civil service quotas snowballed into a broader and violent anti-government movement. At least 280 people have died

Why Trump or Harris might sell out to China

For some Americans, the relevant question isn’t “Which candidate will stand up to China?”, it’s “Should the US stand up to China at all?” There are still some progressives who believe that the negative turn in relations between the two countries is America’s doing, and that if we chose, we could simply stop “saber-rattling” and “warmongering” and return everything to the world of 2012. And there

Xi stays the course amid rising calls for change

Chinese President Xi Jinping has laid out his vision for China’s economic and social future – and it places Xi Jinping at the very center. Having cemented his political legacy at the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October 2022 by being confirmed leader until at least 2027, the “chairman of everything” has now set out how he sees the next few years going. The road map was discussed at

China’s ability to buy US land near military bases just got more restricted

In early June, the US Treasury Department announced a proposed update to Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) rules that would expand the committee’s jurisdiction over foreign real estate purchases. These new rules were announced after several recent high-profile and controversial planned property purchases by initially undisclosed or Chinese buyers, a growing number of

Key takeaways from China’s Third Plenum 2024

The communiqué of the Third Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee, which concluded on July 18, contains no major policy initiatives to address the country’s near-term growth challenges. This was greeted with a sense of disappointment by Western analysts even though not many of them had expected Chinese leaders to announce a major fiscal package or other measures. Instead

What Kamala would mean for China

The fallout from President Joe Biden’s decision Sunday not to seek reelection continues but there are indications Vice President Kamala Harris —whose self-chosen Chinese name is He Jinli —will maintain the Biden administration’s China policy if elected in November.Tight lips in Beijing. A Chinese translation of Biden’s letter announcing his decision was circulating on China’s Weibo social