Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 262

Taiwan votes in local elections amid China tensions

Millions in Taiwan are heading to the polls as the island's local midterm elections kick off on Saturday. Local council and city mayors are elected in the polls, which are held every four years. But these elections are also drawing global attention this year as Taiwan becomes a bigger geopolitical flashpoint between China and the US.The Chinese government sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that

Hunting Down China’s Internet Trolls

For six months after my story went to press, I didn’t dare open QQ. This April, I used the popular messaging platform to make contact with a group of trolls active on Chinese social media as part of a reporting project for the Chinese magazine Sanlian Lifeweek. The past few years have witnessed a number of tragedies caused by cyberbullying and coordinated harassment campaigns. Given the mounting

How Hate Speech Falls Through the Cracks of the Chinese Internet

This April, after enduring days of escalating online harassment, the mother of a 7-year-old — known online simply as the “Shanghai woman” — jumped to her death from her apartment building.The attacks centered on, of all things, a “thank you” post the woman wrote to a delivery driver who had travelled 27 kilometers to bring food to her father during the city’s COVID-19 lockdown. Although she

Over 59 Million Older Chinese Will Need Care by 2030, Study Says

China’s population is aging at a rapid pace, and its health is deteriorating just as fast. By 2030, it is estimated that an additional 14 million elderly Chinese will show a severe inability to perform several daily activities, and will therefore require more care according to a new study published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet Public Health. The number of the elderly with difficulties

China’s Covid cases hit record as dissent grows over tough restrictions

China on Thursday reported a record number of daily Covid infections, as a nationwide surge in cases heaps pressure on the country’s increasingly unpopular zero-tolerance approach to the virus. The National Health Commission (NHC) recorded 31,444 locally transmitted cases on Wednesday – surpassing the previous peak of 29,317 recorded April 13 during Shanghai’s months-long lockdown.The surge is

Torbjørn Færøvik: En glemt by skal vekke Kina til dåd

For snart femti år siden besøkte jeg Yan’an, en støvete småby i det nordvestlige Kina. Byen var omgitt av knusktørre raviner og åser på alle kanter, og for første gang noensinne fikk jeg smake på hirsegrøt. Hirse til frokost, lunsj og middag, og hvert måltid ble skyllet ned med grønn te. Hit kom Mao og hans røde armé i 1935 etter etter å ha gått den sagnomsuste Lange marsjen. Hensikten med

Xi’s ‘action men’ now lead China’s military. Here’s what that means for Taiwan

Star roles for “action men” in China’s new military leadership may hint at an increased threat of war with Taiwan, though analysts suggest Xi Jinping’s stated preference for a peaceful takeover of the island should be taken at face value – at least for now.China announced the lineup of its Central Military Commission (CMC) last weekend, just days after Xi opened the Chinese Communist Party’s

What happened to China’s former leader Hu Jintao?

It is a moment that for many observers has come to define strongman leader Xi Jinping’s tightening grip on China: his visibly frail predecessor, Hu Jintao, being escorted out of a key Communist Party meeting during a five-yearly leadership reshuffle – apparently at Xi’s behest. Images of two men ushering the 79-year-old from his seat and toward the exit were beamed across the world as the party’s

We need to talk about Xi Jinping: G7’s discord over powerful trading partner

Western powers in the G7 group of nations are failing to coordinate their China strategies, senior western officials admit, adding that the need to do so has been given sharp impetus by Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power at this month’s Communist party congress. The G7’s poor coordination reflects a deep disagreement, also reflected within the EU, about whether dialogue and trade with China have

Torbjørn Færøvik: Fest setebeltene. Nå får vi en ny runde med opprustning.

Fest setebeltene. Etter at Kinas Xi Jinping i forrige uke fikk fem nye år ved makten, står verden overfor en ny runde med militær opprustning. “Vi vil styrke vår militære kapasitet og arbeide enda hardere for å modernisere våre væpnede styrker”, sa Xi til de 2300 delegatene. “Fornyelsen av den kinesiske nasjonen er en uunngåelig historisk trend!”Tonen i talen var tydelig anti-vestlig.