Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 261

China’s lockdown protests: What you need to know

China has moved quickly to suppress demonstrations that erupted across the country over the weekend, deploying police forces at key protest sites and tightening online censorship. The protests were sparked by anger over the country’s increasingly costly zero-Covid policy, but as numbers swelled at demonstrations in multiple major cities, so too have the range of grievances voiced – with some

‘Seeing the Yellow River as a whole’: A conversation with Ruth Mostern

The Yellow River, the world’s sixth-longest and most sediment-laden, occupies a singular place in Chinese history and national identity. It is often associated with great misery caused by its flooding and changes of course, and Herculean efforts by political regimes across the millennia to “tame” it. There has long been a good understanding that such misery is caused by the high concentration of

Adapting China to extreme weather

Vast swathes of China suffered from unusual weather this summer. Floods, droughts, power shortages, wildfires, heatwaves and heatstroke – the vocabulary of disaster has filled media reports, social networks and daily conversations. Guangdong experienced a once-in-a-century flood. Towns were inundated and hundreds of thousands of people were affected. Widespread high temperatures and drought

China police move to deter zero-Covid demonstrations and trace protesters

Police have been out in force in China to stamp out zero-Covid protests and at least one person was arrested, according to social media videos, after a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since president Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. There were also reports some demonstrators have been interrogated by authorities over the phone after attending the rare street gatherings in cities

Blank paper, equations and alpacas: the symbols of China’s zero-Covid protests

Blank sheets of paper, mathematical equations and even alpacas: protesters in China have found creative ways to express anger at the government’s zero-Covid measures, unleashing a wave of dissent against long and severe lockdowns, the deaths of factory workers in Urumqi, and the censorship they’re not allowed to talk about.The extraordinary protests, which began over the weekend and spread to

US and China in first South China Sea encounter since Xi-Biden meeting

The United States and Chinese militaries exchanged harsh words Tuesday after a US Navy warship performed the first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea since the leaders of the two powers met earlier this month in an attempt to ease tensions.In a statement, the Chinese military claimed the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruiser, “illegally entered the waters near

Anti-lockdown protests spread across China amid growing anger at zero-Covid strategy

Demonstrations have broken out across Chinese cities and university campuses, triggered by widespread anger at stringent Covid restrictions imposed for almost three years and outrage over a deadly fire widely blamed on lockdowns.In an unusually bold act that appeared to indicate the level of people’s desperation, a crowd in Shanghai called for the removal of the Communist party and Xi Jinping in

Apple has a huge problem with its supplier’s iPhone factory in China

A violent workers’ revolt at the world’s largest iPhone factory this week in central China is further scrambling Apple’s strained supply and highlighting how the country’s stringent zero-Covid policy is hurting global technology firms.The troubles started last month when workers left the factory campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid fears. Short on staff,

US bans new Huawei equipment sales over ‘unacceptable risk’ to national security

The Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Friday it had adopted the final rules, which also bar the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology, video

China Covid: Record number of cases as virus surges nationwide

China has recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began, despite stringent measures designed to eliminate the virus. Several major cities including the capital Beijing and southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks.Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000. The numbers are still tiny for a country of 1.4 billion people and