Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 270

Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai's UK lawyers call for meeting with Rishi Sunak

Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai's international legal team have asked UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for an urgent meeting ahead of his trial on national security charges later this year. The trial on charges of colluding with foreign forces and sedition could see Mr Lai - who holds British nationality - spend the rest of his life in prison. In the letter, seen by the BBC, Mr Lai's

Chinese military stages large-scale military exercises around Taiwan

China sent 28 warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday as Beijing conducted its first large-scale military exercises around the island this year, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said. The 28 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planes were among 57 spotted near Taiwan, the ministry said, adding they included J-10, J-11, J-16 and Su-30 fighters, H-6 bombers, three drones and an early

War game suggests Chinese invasion of Taiwan would fail at a huge cost to US, Chinese and Taiwanese militaries

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2026 would result in thousands of casualties among Chinese, United States, Taiwanese and Japanese forces, and it would be unlikely to result in a victory for Beijing, according to a prominent independent Washington think tank, which conducted war game simulations of a possible conflict that is preoccupying military and political leaders in Asia and Washington.A war

90% of people in China province infected with Covid, says local health official

Almost 90% of people in China’s third most populous province have now been infected with Covid-19, a top local official has said, as the country battles an unprecedented surge in cases. Kan Quancheng, director of the health commission for central Henan province, told a press conference that “as of January 6, 2023, the province’s Covid infection rate is 89%”.With a population of 99.4 million, the

China reopens borders to tourists after three years of Covid closure

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020. Incoming travellers will no longer need to quarantine - marking a significant change in the country's Covid policy as it battles a surge in cases. They will still require proof of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of travelling.The move has been welcomed by many

Torbjørn Færøvik: Hvorfor fortsetter Kina å lyve?

Kinas president og partisjef Xi Jinping innledet det nye året med å snakke om viktigheten av fred, fordragelighet og samarbeid mellom alle verdens folk. Så gikk det noen dager, og pipen fikk en annen lyd. På en pressekonferanse i Beijing truet regjeringens talskvinne et stort antall land med uspesifiserte ”straffetiltak” fordi de ønsker å beskytte seg mot den kinesiske virusbølgen. Det vil ikke

China suspends social media accounts of Covid policy critics

China has taken down more than 1,000 social media accounts - some with millions of followers - that criticised the government's Covid policies. Social media platform Weibo said it had suspended or banned accounts for what it described as personal attacks against Chinese Covid specialists. Weibo did not specify which posts had prompted the action.China scrapped its strict zero-Covid policy in

Empty Shelves and Packed Clinics: Rural China in Crisis

“I’m the only doctor in our village clinic. I can’t see fever patients and I don’t have anything for them anyway,” said Dr. Shi from Wangzongdian, a village on the outskirts of the city of Xingyang in Henan province. On Dec. 20, he told Sixth Tone’s sister publication The Paper that his village had completely run out of cold and flu medicine for nearly two weeks.“I asked the wholesale department

China Covid: Young people self-infect as fears for elderly grow

When Mr Chen's 85-year-old father fell ill with Covid in December, it was impossible to get an ambulance or see a doctor. They went to Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, where they were told to either try other hospitals or sit in the corridor with an IV drip. "There was no bed, no respiratory machine, no medical equipment" available, Mr Chen tells the BBC.His father managed to find a bed at another

Where are Chinese travelers heading now that borders have reopened?

Xiongjie Dai, a freelance software engineer living in the Chinese city of Suzhou, dreams about his first big trip post-Covid-19. The 32-year-old says destinations like South Korea, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia rank high on the list. But he has his eyes set on the US."When I have enough money, I'd like to visit America first," he tells CNN Travel. "America is the leader in both the