Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 271

Shanghai reopens some public transport after months-long Covid lockdown

Shanghai has reopened a small part of the world’s longest subway system after some lines had been closed for almost two months, as the city paves the way for a more complete lifting of its Covid-19 lockdown next week. With most residents not allowed to leave their homes and restrictions tightening in parts of China’s most populous city, commuters early on Sunday needed strong reasons to

David L. Sloss: The US Should Ban China’s State Media From Social Platforms

The United States should ban Chinese and Russian state media companies from large social media platforms. If Congress fails to act, U.S. social media companies will continue to subvert democracy by providing free electronic amplification services for Chinese and Russian state media companies engaged in information warfare.In early March, the European Union banned RT and Sputnik, Russia’s state

China Becomes Wild Card in Sri Lanka’s Debt Crisis

China says its initiative to build ports and other infrastructure across Asia and Africa, paid for with Chinese loans, will boost trade. But in a cautionary tale for borrowers, Sri Lanka’s multibillion-dollar debt to Beijing threatens to hinder efforts to resolve a financial crisis so severe that the Indian Ocean nation cannot import food or gasoline. Sri Lanka’s struggle is extreme, but it

Sri Lanka’s Meltdown Puts China’s Strategic Influence in Jeopardy

When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family stormed to power in Colombo in 2019, Beijing had much cause to celebrate. Only years earlier, the new president’s elder brother, Mahinda, had been instrumental in heralding a new era of Chinese influence in his country — hosting an array of dazzling infrastructure projects under Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).The projects had

China’s graduate entrance exam offers hope – and few guarantees

Chen Yuying remembers the freezing afternoon last December, when she was sitting in the back of the classroom watching other students writing. Shielded by her glasses and facemask, she quietly burst into tears. For the past two days, she had tried her best to stay calm and fully focused on the exam. But after finishing answering all the questions, she was overwhelmed by mixed emotions and

Beware the Himalayan Heat: China, India, and Pakistan on the Brink

This spring, as the snows melt in the high Himalayan borderlands between India, China, and Pakistan, the longstanding threat of crisis, or even war, looms. We, the co-chairs of a new study group report from the United States Institute of Peace, find that too few in U.S. national security and foreign policy making circles appreciate just how dangerous this region has become, how regional dynamics

Understanding the Extent (and Limits) of Chinese Public Support for Russia

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to devastating destruction and casualties in the latter, with thousands killed and millions displaced by the ongoing conflict. The war will have a lasting impact on Sino-Russian relations (dubbedin some quarters a “friendship without limits”), as well as – by extension – Sino-European and Sino-American relations. In making sense of China’s stance on the

A Former Chinese Ambassador’s Trenchant Comments on Ukraine War Attract Notice

In a highly unusual move, a former Chinese ambassador to Ukraine spoke against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His published remark was subsequently quietly scrubbed from the Chinese internet.  Gao Yusheng, a 75-year-old career diplomat, delivered a scathing indictment of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war during an internal webinar hosted by the government-affiliated China International

Is Studying Overseas Losing Its Allure for Chinese Students?

Nanjing, a city 300 kilometers away from Shanghai, has been only mildly affected by China’s recent Omicron outbreak: high schools resumed in-person classes on April 7, two days after the city reached zero COVID.Two years ago, when the epidemic started in central China’s Hubei province, Nan Zhaojin was in the middle of her first year in the international department of a local school, where she

North Korea promotes traditional medicines in bid to fight Covid outbreak

North Korea is ramping up production of drugs and medical supplies including sterilisers and thermometers as well as encouraging the use of traditional Korean medicines said to reduce fever and pain as it battles an unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. Traditional medicines were “effective in prevention and cure of the malicious disease,” state-run news agency KCNA said, although no medical