Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 220

Covid lab leak theory should not be ruled out, top Chinese scientist says

The former director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has said the lab leak theory for the origins of Covid-19 should not be discounted. George Gao, an internationally respected virologist, also said another branch of the Chinese government had investigated the lab leak theory – the first such acknowledgment that some kind of official investigation took place. “They

Protesters clash with police in China over partial demolition of mosque

Hundreds of police have clashed with protesters in a Muslim town in south-west China amid anger at plans to partially dismantle a 14th-century mosque. The unrest broke out on Saturday, seemingly in response to attempts by the authorities to dismantle parts of Najiaying mosque in Nagu, a town in Yunnan province.In 2020, a court ruled that recent additions to the mosque, including a domed roof and

Torbjørn Færøvik: Han kom, han så, og han reiste resignert hjem

«Veni, vidi, vici», skal Cæsar ha sagt etter den raske seieren i slaget ved Zela i Lilleasia i år 47. «Jeg kom, jeg så, jeg vant.»Den kinesiske spesialutsendingen som i forrige uke besøkte Ukrainas hovedstad Kyiv, nøyde seg med å komme, se og reise hjem igjen. Det vil si, før han satte seg på flyet til Beijing, stakk han innom fire andre land, Polen, Tyskland, Frankrike og Russland. «Partene må

‘Uncle Roger’ jokes about China, and censors don’t see the funny side

A Malaysian comedian has been banned from China’s Twitter-like social media platform, days after he published clips from a live show predicting his skits about Beijing’s heavily censored politics and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would land him in trouble.Nigel Ng, who performs under the persona “Uncle Roger,” last week posted a trailer of his new show on Twitter, in which he jokes about China’s

G7 takes stand against China’s “economic coercion”

As the G7 leaders sent a strong message to Russia by inviting Volodymyr Zelensky to Hiroshima, another rival was also on their minds - China. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China posed "the greatest challenge of our age" in regards to global security and prosperity, and that it was "increasingly authoritarian at home and abroad".And in not one but two statements, the leaders of the

China imposes sales restrictions on Micron as it escalates tech battle with Washington

China has banned Chinese companies working on key infrastructure projects from buying products from US semiconductor manufacturer Micron, in a major escalation of an ongoing battle between the world’s top two economies over access to crucial technology. The Cyberspace Administration of China announced the decision on Sunday, saying the US chip maker had failed to pass a cybersecurity review.“The

‘Uncle Roger’ jokes about China and censors don’t see the funny side

A Malaysian comedian has been banned from China’s Twitter-like social media platform, days after he published clips from a live show predicting his skits about Beijing’s heavily censored politics and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would land him in trouble. Nigel Ng, who performs under the persona “Uncle Roger,” last week posted a trailer of his new show on Twitter, in which he jokes about China’s

China’s war chest: how the fight for semiconductors reveals the outlines of a future conflict

Signs of the burgeoning conflict between the US and China can be spotted in many different places, from balloons in the sky to videos on TikTok. But nowhere is it more apparent than on the microscopic wafers of silicon, otherwise known as semiconductors.Semiconductors, or microchips, are tiny pieces of technology that power everything from microwaves to military weapons. The industry is worth

‘We in the west were blinded’: China crackdown on business has Maoist roots

To many western investors, China under president Xi Jinping is a tough nut to crack. While Chinese leaders insist that they welcome foreign investment, the ruling party’s extension of control to companies, with crackdowns on domestic tech giants and more recently the “anti-spying” raids on consulting firms, including America’s blue chip Bain & Company, are puzzling to the outside world.Chris

Japan's pacifism hangs in balance as China and North Korea threats loom

Toshiyuki Mimaki says he remembers crying as he looked up at a blackened sunset after the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima. He was only three years old at the time, but he remembers the dazed and burnt survivors fleeing past his home in the countryside. He remembers heading into the city with his family, searching for his father in an apocalyptic wasteland.Over the years he has recounted these