Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 183

What is China’s ‘monster’ coast guard ship and why is the Philippines spooked by it?

China anchored one of its two “monster” coast guard ships inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) last week in what a Philippine official called an act of “intimidation” in the ongoing territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea.Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the China Coast Guard vessel CCG-5901 anchored near Sabina Shoal in the

Taiwan spy chief warns of sharp rise in Chinese infiltration

Taiwan's national security chief says China is stepping up its infiltration of the democratic island, amid an ongoing investigation into reports that a journalist from Beijing’s Xinhua news agency played a key role in editing a political talk show at a Taiwanese broadcaster.National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen told lawmakers on Thursday that Beijing is taking advantage of

Prominent Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong cut off from other inmates

Prominent Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong is being held separately from fellow prisoners under a number rather than his name, and subjected to round-the-clock monitoring by his cell-mates, according to U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao. Xu, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in February, is also being forced into labor at the unnamed prison where he is currently serving a 14-year jail term

Philippines, Japan sign groundbreaking defense pact as ‘counterweight’ to China

The Philippines and Japan signed a defense pact Monday that will allow troops to be deployed in each other’s country, a landmark agreement seen as a counterweight to China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The Reciprocal Access Agreement, or RAA, was signed by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in Manila at a ceremony witnessed

China pulls plug on 'Wild Child,' a movie about troubled street kids

Chinese censors have pulled the plug on a movie about two homeless children who take care of each other. "Due to issues in post-production, we are withdrawing 'Wild Child' from release on July 10," the producers said in a public statement dated July 3, adding that full refunds will be issued. "We would like to convey our sincerest apologies to colleagues in movie theaters and all of our audience.

From China's Past: The Diamond Sutra, the Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book

The Buddhist text known as the Diamond Sutra is believed to be the oldest surviving printed book in the world. Made in 868 AD and written in Chinese, the text contains a significant dialogue on perception, and is one of the most important sacred works of the Buddhist faith. The Diamond Sutra was hidden for centuries in a cave in northwest China, and it was created from seven strips of

China’s Typing Triumph: An Excerpt from ‘The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age’

A standard QWERTY keyboard has a few dozen keys. How can Chinese—a language with tens of thousands of characters and no alphabet—be input on such a device? To answer this question, one needs to return to the beginnings of electronic Chinese technology in the wake of World War II, and follow up through to its many iterations in the present day. In particular, we need to examine the development of

How ready is China's military?

After months of intense speculation and official reticence, China has finally confirmed its two former defense ministers who vanished from public view last year had been under investigation for corruption.  Their dramatic downfall has exposed deep-rooted alleged deceit in key sectors of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s military modernization drive despite his decade-long war on graft, raising

Tesla is now an official Chinese government car

For the first time ever, Tesla cars have been placed on a Chinese government purchase list, according to state-owned media outlet Paper.cn. Tesla is the only foreign-owned EV car brand on the purchase catalog published by the government of Jiangsu province in eastern China. The other brands mentioned include Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, and state-owned SAIC.That means that government agencies

Does China Still Need Libraries?

In 2020, literature professor Yang Suqiu chanced upon an opportunity of a lifetime after taking up a temporary position as the deputy chief of a district culture and tourism bureau in the historical northwestern city of Xi’an: establishing a new district library.Tasked with leading the project, Yang had to oversee every aspect of the library, from its physical construction to the content within.