Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 193

The Ambitious Dragon: Beijing’s Calculus for Invading Taiwan by 2030

On 23 October 2022, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping would serve an unprecedented third term leading the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is noteworthy that during his speech to the 20th National Congress of the CCP, President Xi repeatedly reinforced the narrative that “complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without a

What’s Wrong With Traditional Weddings? Everything, Say Young Chinese.

When A Kang and his partner decided to get married in February, they quickly realized they didn’t want a traditional wedding. The elaborate rituals that have become common in China — the fleet of limousines, diamond rings, lavish banquet, and professional emcee — felt wasteful and meaningless.  So the couple decided to go in a radically different direction. They hired a simple banquet hall,

Bargain-hungry Americans are flocking to Temu and making its Chinese owner very rich

PDD Holdings, the owner of Temu and Pinduoduo, is blowing past market expectations with a massive surge in profit and revenue as American and Chinese consumers swarm its bargain shopping apps for low-cost products. The Shanghai-based company reported Wednesday that net profit soared 246% to 28 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2024, more than double the average analyst

China says military drills encircling Taiwan designed to test its ability to ‘seize power’

China’s military drills around Taiwan are designed to test its ability to “seize power” over the island, the People’s Liberation Army said Friday as its forces kicked off a second day of large-scale exercises encircling its democratic neighbor. The drills are the largest in more than a year and come just days after Taiwan swore in its new president, Lai Ching-te, who is openly loathed by Beijing

What do China's drills around Taiwan tell us?

Thursday's drills focused on encircling the island, simulating a full-scale attack, minus the actual landing of troops, Taiwan military expert Chieh Chung says. He thinks the inclusion of all of Taiwan’s off-shore islands demonstrates China’s plan to eliminate facilities that could launch a counter-attack against the PLA.He also thinks this two-day drill will not be the last Taiwan will have to

Off the Books: Inside the Struggle to Save China’s Preschools

Facing low admissions, fierce competition from public schools, and financial pressures, China’s private kindergartens are upping marketing efforts and offering nursery classes. To boost enrollments, teachers are also increasingly taking on roles as sales reps.Read more

Xi Jinping takes off the mask: The Beijing tyrant has spent 12 years wrecking China’s image

Xi Jinping’s recent European tour was an unprecedented spectacle in international affairs: an Asian leader was arriving as representative of a great power to lesser nations of an anxious continent. China’s strongman landed in Paris on May 5, amid diplomatic pleasantries. Behind the gift exchange, including fine French cognac, any hopes French President Emmanuel Macron harbored that the visit

China’s ‘virtual invasion’ of India and the cultural genocide of Tibet

There is no border between India and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In the northwest and northeast, India adjoins Tibet. It is not necessary for your Indian interlocutor to be a die-hard nationalist to think this way. As a matter of fact, this is what a large number of Indians have believed since 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in Beijing. Their reasoning is that

More than 700,000 Tibetans forced to relocate, report says

For the past seven years, Tashi and his once-nomadic family been living in the outskirts of Tibet’s capital Lhasa after they were forcibly moved from their ancestral home in the grasslands of Tibet. They had made a living raising yaks and other livestock and engaging in sustainable farming in Damxung county, located two hours away by road from Lhasa, until they and others were forced to move to

Christian Asamoah Gyawu: Exploring the causes of conflict between India and China

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1950, the Republic of China and India have not had a good relationship. The two countries have had volatile engagements with many withstanding unresolved issues, especially in the land boundary disputes. The disputes have even resulted in different military wars experienced in the country. The Sino - Indian war that occurred in 1962, Nathu La and