Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 199

Hungary opens up to Chinese tech despite protests

"We do not intend to become the world leader," said Hungary's foreign minister in Beijing last October, about his country's ambitious plans for manufacturing Electric Vehicle batteries, "because the world leader is China".China has an astonishing 79% share of the lithium-ion global battery manufacturing capacity, ahead of the US on 6%. Hungary is now third with 4% and aims soon to overtake the

Whistleblowing Uyghur surgeon speaks truth to horror

When an armed police officer directed Uyghur surgeon Enver Tohti to remove organs from a not-quite-dead prisoner on an execution ground outside Urumqi, his first reaction was overwhelming relief: "I thought they were going to execute me," he recalled.It was 1995 and Tohti was working as an oncological surgeon at the Railway Central Hospital in the northwestern city of Urumqi. He had been pressed

China expels teacher for pushing for students to use Tibetan language

A Tibetan language teacher in China’s Sichuan province was interrogated and expelled by authorities after pushing for greater use of the Tibetan language in schools — a measure that has been banned in education institutions, two sources inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.Dhonyoe, who goes by only one name, was expelled in early April from Meruma Central Primary School in Ngaba county’s Meruma

Activists interrupt Chinese ambassador's Harvard speech

A protester who loudly disrupted a speech at Harvard by Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng on the eve of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China said she did it to discourage world-class universities from "kowtowing to China" despite committing human rights abuses.Harvard junior Cosette Wu, who grew up in Hawaii with Taiwanese parents, stood up with a banner that read "China Lies" during

Calls grow for proof of whereabouts of Tibet’s missing Panchen Lama

Global leaders joined Tibetans across the world this week to mark the 35th birthday of a revered Tibetan religious leader taken into custody 29 years ago and missing ever since. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, then just six years old, was recognized by Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as the 11th Panchen Lama, Tibet’s second most-senior Buddhist monk, in May 1995. Shortly after the Dalai Lama’s

Why is China risking US sanctions by arming Russia? Survival

US secretary of state Antony Blinken fired a warning salvo towards China during a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the Italian island of Capri on April 20. The US’s top diplomat said that China is a “prime contributor” of weapons-related technology to Russia, and was fuelling what is the “biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War”.As Blinken detailed further when he landed

Fresh Tensions In Vietnam-China Ties Over New Baseline Announcement By China In Gulf Of Tonkin – Analysis

China’s recent maritime activities leading to disputes with Philippines have caught the attention of analysts who are busy dissecting China’s long-term intentions and future course of direction. This is a serious issue as these impacts on the security and stability in the region. There are internationally governed rules for conducting maritime trade but China has often violated with impunity

The environmental cost of China's addiction to cement

The use of concrete exploded to fuel China's rise. Now the costs of this weighty material are being counted.China's cities are sinking – apparent victims of their own success. Large swathes of the country's population now live in major cities that are subsiding at more than 3mm (0.1in) per year, according to a recent study. Some areas are sinking by more than 45mm (1.7in) each year, such as parts

In Retrospect: What Happened When China Tried To Take Taiwan in the 1950s?

In 1950, the PLA launched a series of amphibious operations, most notably resulting in the capture of Hainan island in the South China Sea. However, a landing in Kinmen was bloodily repulsed by Nationalist tanks in the Battle of Guningtou, barring the way for a final assault on Taiwan itself. Then events intervened, as the outbreak of the Korean War caused President Truman to deploy the U.S.

Torbjørn Færøvik: Valgets kval for Indias muslimer

Hver morgen ved soloppgang strømmer tusener av muslimer til Jama Masjid, den største moskeen i Delhi. For de indiske hindunasjonalistene er den som en torn i øyet, for muslimene et uunnværlig gudshus i en vanskelig tid. «Allah er stor», runger det fra helligdommen i gamlebyens hjerte.Moskeen har plass til 25 000 mennesker og ble reist på 1600-tallet under mogulkeiseren Shah Jahan. Han ønsket å