Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 195

From China's Past: "I was a teenager when I first met Mao Zedong"

I was a teenager when I first met Mao Zedong. In October 1950, Mao gave a big dinner party at Zhongnanhai to celebrate the first anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic. My father, an old friend of Mao — or rather of his father-in-law — was invited. I still don’t know why, but guests were allowed to bring their children.It was a big party with more than 100 guests. Mao approached my

Win for World's Richest Monarch As Top Thai Party Banned

The party that won most votes in Thailand's last election has been banned by the country's constitutional court over its campaign promise to reform laws that set long jail sentences for criticizing the powerful monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.Thailand has long been torn between a conservative establishment seeking to preserve the power and status of the monarchy versus those who are

China Tests Train That Could Be Fastest in World

China has successfully tested its new ultra-high-speed (UHS) maglev train, which can reach speeds up to 621 mph, making it the fastest train in the world. The demonstration, carried out in Shanxi Province, marks a significant milestone in China's efforts to remain the global leader in rail technology. The new maglev, or magnetic levitation, train was tested in a 2-kilometer-long low-vacuum tube

China's Expanding Arctic Ambitions Challenge the U.S. and NATO

As the Arctic summer melts the polar bear tracks on the sea ice around Norway's Spitsbergen Island, dozens of Chinese scientists are arriving at a facility guarded by a very different kind of white creature—stone lions from Shanghai.About 50 researchers from China are expected this year in the Norwegian science station of Ny-Ålesund in the Svalbard archipelago, where a male and a female lion

In Retrospect: Just Where Exactly Did China Get the South China Sea Nine-Dash Line From? (2016)

First the dotted line on Chinese maps lost two of its hyphens in 1952, when, in a moment of socialist bonhomie with Vietnam, Chairman Mao Zedong abandoned Chinese claims to the Gulf of Tonkin. Then, on July 12, 2016, an international tribunal ruled that the now nine-dash demarcation could not be used by Beijing to make historic claims to the South China Sea, parts of which are claimed by six

Impacts of Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal and Implications for Mekong Cooperation

Cambodia has every right to construct the Funan Techo Canal, a project that gives Cambodia water access the Gulf of Thailand for commercial and other uses. But the way Cambodia’s government has communicated its intents to build the canal is creating diplomatic friction with its neighbor Vietnam. Regional tensions and environmental impacts of the project will be reduced if Cambodia follows the

Cambodia starts work on canal linking Mekong River to sea

Cambodia has launched a controversial canal project to link the Mekong River to the sea. Work on the $1.7bn project kicked off on Monday. Phnom Penh hopes the canal will boost the country’s economy. However, concern over the impact on the region’s environment and foreign relations is rife. The Funan Techo Canal will run from a spot on the Mekong River about an hour’s drive southeast of Phnom Penh

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