Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 219

No, Southeast Asians do not now prefer China over the US

The famed quip “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned Lies, and statistics” can be updated for the modern era with “confusion, damned confusion, and opinion Polls” in the wake of the 2024 State of Southeast Asia surveys of the region’s elites published this month by a think tank in Singapore.The annual report by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute has sparked some alarmist headlines. “

In Retrospect: Richard Nixon And Zhou Enlai, "Toasts At A Banquet Honoring The Premier," February 25, 1972

President Richard Nixon made history by breaking the ice and visiting China in February 1972. During his stay, he hosted a banquet in the Great Hall of the People. The toasts were made shortly after 9 pm and were broadcast live via satellite to the United States."Mr. Prime Minister and our very distinguished guests from the People's Republic of China and the United States of America:It is a great

A New Round of Restrictions Further Constrains Religious Practice in Xinjiang

Authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region rang in 2024 by announcing an update to the region’s strictures on religious practice. Changes include new rules to ensure that sites of religious worship, like mosques, look adequately “Chinese,” and to mandate the cultivation of “patriotic” religious leaders.Officials have long levied restrictions on religious belief and practice in the

China: The rise of digital repression in the Indo-Pacific

China continues to export its digital authoritarianism playbook across the Indo-Pacific, reveals ARTICLE 19’s new report. In October 2023, at the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China’s leader Xi Jinping signalled his intention to focus away from the more grandiose legacy projects of the Belt and Road Initiative in favour of ‘small yet smart’ projects. This acknowledgement of Party

In Retrospect: The Atomic Bomb, Statement Of The Government Of The People's Republic Of China, October 16, 1964

The Atomic Bomb, Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China, October 16, 1964:China exploded an atomic bomb at 15:00 hours on October 16, 1964, thereby successfully carrying out its first nuclear test. This is a major achievement of the Chinese people in their struggle to strengthen their national defence and oppose the U.S. imperialist policy of nuclear blackmail and nuclear

Chinese workers killed in suicide bomb blast as Pakistan grapples with attacks on Beijing’s interests

Five Chinese workers and their local driver were killed in a suicide bomb blast in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, authorities said, the latest in a string of terror attacks that the South Asian country’s military and government say aims to disrupt Islamabad’s close ties with Beijing.Senior police official Muhammad Ali Gandapur said the explosion occurred when the bomber rammed a vehicle into the

Water extraction and weight of buildings see half of China's cities sink

Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking because of water extraction and the increasing weight of their rapid expansion, researchers say. Some cities are subsiding rapidly, with one in six exceeding 10mm per year. China's rapid urbanisation in recent decades means far more water is now being drawn up to meet people's needs, scientists say. In coastal cities, this subsidence threatens

Why a deluge of Chinese-made drugs is hard to curb

When Sammy left her village in Sichuan province to attend university in northern China more than a decade ago, she was following a well-trodden rite of passage. The English language graduate was the first person in her family to go to university. She had a passion for foreign languages and dreamed of becoming a teacher. She had never heard of synthetic opioids before.After graduating, Sammy found

From China's Past: Was the Black Death in India and China?

Firsthand accounts of the Black Death in Europe and the Middle East and many subsequent historians have assumed that the pandemic originated in Asia and ravaged China and India before reaching the West. One reason for this conviction among modern historians is that the plague in the nineteenth century originated and did its worst damage in these countries. But a close examination of the sources

China’s economy expands by a surprisingly strong pace in the first quarter of 2024

China’s economy grew stronger than expected at the start of this year, mainly thanks to robust growth in high-tech manufacturing. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3% in the first quarter from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. That beat the estimate of 4.6% growth from a Reuters poll of economists. It also marked an acceleration from the 5.2% growth in