Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 198

Chinese water cannon damages ship in new South China Sea flare-up, Philippines says

China’s coast guard fired water cannons that damaged a Philippine vessel on Tuesday, marking the latest flare-up of violence between the two countries in the disputed South China Sea, Philippine authorities said. The Philippine Coast Guard said the incident occurred as one of its ships and a fisheries agency vessel carried out a “legitimate patrol” near Scarborough Shoal, a Chinese-controlled

‘It worries me deeply’: Five Chinese experts on climate change

Last year the world was warmer than in any since records began. China experienced a spate of heatwaves, droughts, rainstorms and typhoons. This extreme weather was down to a mixture of human-caused climate change and the return of the El Niño natural weather phenomenon. We are all more likely to feel the impact of climate change now that extreme weather is the new normal. As a result, energy

Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech

Earlier this year, Ai Qing was woken up in the middle of the night by angry chants outside her dormitory in northern Argentina. She peered out of the window to see Argentine workers surrounding the compound and blockading the entrance with flaming tyres. "It was getting scary because I could see the sky being lit up by the fire. It had become a riot," says Ms Ai, who works for a Chinese company

In Retrospect: Did President George H.W. Bush Mishandle China?

George H.W. Bush deserves much of the praise he is getting for his conduct of American foreign policy, particularly towards Europe and the Middle East. But when it came to China, Bush simply got it wrong. He misjudged in advance what would happen to the Tiananmen Square protests and then mishandled the aftermath.Bush’s ideas and assumptions about America’s relationship with China were forged

From China’s Past: The triumphs and travails of China’s first American citizen

Yale University’s main research library, Sterling, is meant to evoke a Gothic cathedral. The main entrance doors open onto a nave, lighted through stained-glass windows, with the circulation desk where the altar might otherwise be. Although the architecture resembles a church, the iconography is secular, including statuary throughout the library.In one corridor is a lifesize statue of a Chinese

The Backbend: Why a Basic Dance Move Is Paralyzing Children in China

Commonly taught in dance studios, the backbend has been linked to a surge in severe spinal injuries among young girls across the country. This alarming trend has prompted widespread calls for better regulatory frameworks and more professional training methods.For six years now, Li Huan has worked at a school cafeteria to keep her 12-year-old daughter Qingqing in class. Though deep in debt,

The Scholar Bringing Marco Polo Back to China

This year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Marco Polo (1254–1324), the legendary Venetian traveler who introduced Asia to the West.Yet despite Marco Polo’s widespread recognition in China, there exists only one rigorous Chinese translation of “The Travels of Marco Polo.” Completed by Feng Chengjun and published by the Shanghai Commercial Press in 1936, this translation falls short of

Exclusive: China firms go 'underground' on Russia payments as banks pull back

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after meeting China's top diplomat Wang Yi for five and a half hours in Beijing on Friday, said he had expressed "serious concern" that Beijing was "powering Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine". Still, his visit, which included meeting President Xi Jinping, was the latest in a series of steps that have tempered the public acrimony that drove

In Retrospect: The Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America

The Mutual Defense Treaty between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America (MDT) was signed on August 30, 1951 by their representatives in Washington, D.C. The treaty has eight articles and requires both nations to support each other if another party attacks the Philippines or the United States.The Philippines became a US territory after the Spanish–American War and the

SIPRI: China Is a Driving Force Behind World Military Spending

Total global military expenditure reached $2443 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8 per cent in real terms from 2022. This was the steepest year-on-year increase since 2009. The 10 largest spenders in 2023—led by the United States, China and Russia—all increased their military spending, according to new data on global military spending published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research