Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 225

Beijing Is Pouring Resources into Its UN Human Rights Review—All to Prevent Any Real Review from Taking Place

On January 23, a large delegation of Chinese officials will appear at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to try to defend the indefensible. For the first time since 2018, China will undergo a Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in which UN member states evaluate one another’s human rights records.When Xi Jinping took power just over a decade ago, China was already an authoritarian,

What Will Newly Increased Party Control Mean for China’s Universities?

In January, Radio Free Asia reported that the Chinese Communist Party is “taking a direct role in the running of universities across the country” by merging the presidents’ offices with their Party committees.Ideological controls on universities have been tightening for more than a decade. In 2013, a leaked Party directive, Document 9, warned against threats to the Party’s rule from “mistaken

Hong Kong court affirms landmark sedition conviction for pro-democracy activist

Criticizing laws or chanting anti-government slogans can be enough to jail someone for sedition in Hong Kong, an appeal court ruled Thursday in a landmark case brought under a colonial-era law increasingly used to crush dissent.Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal upheld a 40-month sentence for pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi, the first person tried under the city’s sedition law since Hong Kong

How will a new national security law affect different walks of life in Hong Kong?

As Hong Kong passed a new national security law, the city that evolved from a swampy fishing village to a financial center embarked on another transformation, one that may redefine its role on the world stage and the liberties of its citizens. For the government and supporters of Beijing, the legislation is the keystone in fulfilling a constitutional duty, heralding a new era focused squarely on

From China's Past: A Remarkable Couple in China - Archibald and Alicia Little

Archibald John Little (1838-1908) was a Manchester merchant and businessman in China. He first went to China in 1859 as a tea taster for a German company. This was the time of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in China. Archibald set up his own business at Kiukiang (Jiujiang), moved to Shanghai and came up with the idea of using steamships to navigate the Upper Yangtze; a difficult

Article 23: Local politicians hail new security law, as foreign gov’ts, NGOs slam ‘devastating’ effect on freedom

Foreign governments, politicians and NGOs have condemned the fast-tracked passage of Hong Kong’s new, local security law, whilst local political parties and government departments hailed Tuesday’s unanimous vote in the opposition-free legislature. Article 23 of the Basic Law stipulates that the government shall enact laws on its own to prohibit acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion

What is Article 23, Hong Kong’s new draconian national security law?

Legislators in Hong Kong have approved a new national security law ­- referred to as Article 23 – that gives the government new powers to crack down on all forms of dissent on the grounds of alleged treason, espionage, sedition and external interference in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. Article 23 is the second such security law since 2020, when authorities cracked down on months of pro-democracy

Hong Kong: The New Security Law (full text)

Here is the controversial security law adopted by the Legislative Assembly in Hongkong. All 88 members of the assembly voted in favor of the law. Read more

Torbjørn Færøvik: Venezia hyller våren og Marco Polo

Vår i Venezia. Det finnes ikke noe bedre. Den kjølige tåken som i vintermånedene henger over byen, er som tryllet bort, og inn siver varmen. De siste dagene har en varm vårsol trengt seg opp kanalene og inn i alle byens kriker og kroker. Og på Markusplassen spankulerer duene like lykkelige som før.Løfter jeg blikket, belønnes jeg med synet av Dogepalasset i enden av plassen. Palazzo Ducale, som

EXHIBITION IN VENICE: "THE WORLDS OF MARCO POLO THE JOURNEY OF A 13TH–CENTURY VENETIAN MERCHANT"

Marco Polo (1254-1324) was certainly the most illustrious traveller of the Middle Ages and beyond. Before and after him others successfully made journeys to the East. But Marco Polo, by his extraordinary Travels (original entitled Il Milione), is undoubtedly the best-known and most celebrated figure to have travelled from the West to the Far East and to have left a full and richly documented