Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 191

Modi to visit Ukraine, weeks after Kyiv condemned Indian PM for hugging Putin in Moscow

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Ukraine, officials said Monday, weeks after he made his first trip to Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. His forthcoming visit to Ukraine - also his first since the start of the war – comes at a crucial moment, as Kyiv’s troops push further into Russian territory in a shock military

China’s one-child policy hangover: Scarred women dismiss Beijing’s pro-birth agenda

«What are your parents’ names?» Fang, then a third grader, hemmed and hawed at the simple question as her teacher waited impatiently, unaware the 9-year-old was caught in a dilemma. Since preschool, Fang had been officially registered as the daughter of her eldest uncle – an attempt by her birth parents to circumvent harsh penalties for having a second baby under China’s controversial

Young people in China aren’t spending on romance. That’s a problem

During China’s go-go years, young couples holding enormous bouquets of roses were a familiar sight during the Qixi Festival, an ancient holiday celebrating love and loyalty. People would flock to social media to show off brand-new iPhones and Louis Vuitton handbags gifted by their partners, as well as photos of dinners at fancy restaurants, during the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day, which

Poland overtakes China as sales market for German products

German exporters sold more goods to Poland than to China in the first half of the year, an analysis showed on Friday, marking the success of a diversification drive by major German companies as they look to reduce their dependence on the Chinese market. Major German exporting companies in sectors such as industrial goods and autos have long been pillars of the country's economy and account for

China, Vietnam eye boost to rail links as top leaders meet

Rail links will be high on the agenda when Vietnam's newly appointed leader To Lam travels to China to meet President Xi Jinping next week, officials said, as the neighbours seek to boost trade.Seamless rail links are seen as crucial for supply chains, as a growing number of Chinese manufacturers move some export-oriented operations to Vietnam amid trade tensions between China and the United

Vietnam top leader To Lam arrives in China, set to meet Xi Jinping

Vietnam's top leader To Lam arrived in China on Sunday for a three-day visit, according to Chinese state media, which Beijing's foreign ministry has said will include meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The Vietnamese president, who was elevated this month to the nation's top position, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, arrived in Guangzhou, state broadcaster

In Retrospect: The 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War and Its Consequences

In a grand struggle with the Soviet Union for the leadership role of the global communist movement, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) waged a full-scale war of aggression against communist Vietnam in February and March 1979. Vietnam had abandoned Beijing and joined Moscow as a mutual defense-treaty ally and invaded and toppled China’s Maoist puppet government, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The war

China-Vietnamese Relations in the Era of Rising China: Power, Resistance, and Maritime Conflict

In the twenty-first century, China and Vietnam have experienced heightened tension over their sovereignty disputes over the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and the related disputes over the demarcation of their respective exclusive economic zones (EEZ).1 But, for China, Sino-Vietnamese conflict is more than a dispute over sovereignty and economic rights. It is a

Scammers prey on young Chinese desperate for jobs in bleak economy

A Chinese mother went on television to seek justice for her 19-year-old intellectually disabled son after scammers tricked the desperate jobseeker into having breast augmentation surgery, in an incident that has sparked widespread outrage. The teenager hoping for a job at a cosmetic surgery clinic in the central city of Wuhan was told the procedure would help him earn money, by winning followers

Thai heiress brings back divisive dynasty - but for how long?

Paetongtarn Shinawatra brings a fresh, young face, and yet another member of the powerful Shinawatra clan, to the country’s top job. She is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed former PM who returned to Thailand last August after 15 years in exile. The 37-year-old is also the youngest prime minister in Thailand’s history, and only the second woman - the first was her aunt Yingluck