Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 271

Remembering a Golden Age: Shanghai at the Turn of the Century

For photographer Xu Haifeng and many others of his generation, Shanghai in the 1990s was a place teeming with possibilities. As China’s economic reforms put the city at the forefront of globalization, youths of his age embraced fashion, business opportunities, and a stronger sense of freedom to pursue their dreams.As a budding photographer at the time, Xu found himself drawn to the urban ruins —

COVID Is Rife Inside China’s Colleges. Exams Are Going Ahead Anyway.

On Dec. 8, China’s central authorities issued a document that effectively ended the “zero-COVID” policy. Anyone testing positive for the coronavirus would be allowed to stay at home rather than be taken to centralized quarantine. Soon after, cities all over the country rapidly dismantled their pandemic-control systems. Rules requiring residents to take regular PCR tests and scan digital health

Can international tourists visit China? Everything you need to know about the country's reopening

Some potentially good news for travelers hoping to visit China in 2023. After nearly three years of being largely cut off from the world, Chinese authorities announced the lifting of several major Covid-related entry restrictions that take effect on January 8. Among these, China has dropped quarantine requirements for all international arrivals, its most significant move yet as it veers away from

A Chinese company has signed an oil extraction deal with Afghanistan’s Taliban

The ruling Taliban has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil from northern Afghanistan’s Amu Darya basin as the radical Islamist group attempts to bolster the South Asian nation’s increasingly impoverished and isolated economy. The agreement with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban has signed since

Anxious lunar new year period in China as millions travel while Covid spreads

Dora Wang longs to see her family over lunar new year, but despite the recent scrapping of Covid travel restrictions acrossChina she has decided against travelling the 286 miles (461km) from Beijing to her home city, Dalian, in the north-east.“I am really worried because the train stations will be packed,” said the 31-year-old illustrator, who is five months pregnant. Not having been vaccinated,

China Covid: wave of celebrity deaths sparks doubt over actual toll

A spate of deaths among celebrities and public figures across China has sparked concerns that the actual death toll from Covid-19 may be far higher than authorities are reporting. Many on Chinese social media have been mourning the death of actor Gong Jintang, who died aged 83 on New Year’s Day. He was known for his portrayal of Father Kang in the sitcom Kang’s Family, which first aired in 2000.

China is now the centre of Covid. The world should be watching – and testing

After almost three years of trying to wholly eliminate the virus that causes Covid-19 from within its borders, the Chinese government has abruptly changed course. Now, the country is attempting to “live with Covid-19”. Testing is no longer required, and numbers of officially reported Covid-19 cases are at odds with scientific estimates of the situation.While official estimates suggest there are

EU wants travellers from China to take pre-departure Covid tests

The European Union wants all travellers from China to take pre-departure Covid tests, in response to surging levels of the virus after Beijing hastily abandoned strict controls. EU officials meeting on Wednesday in the “integrated political crisis response” format said there should be a requirement for a negative Covid test from all travellers from China, despite warnings from Beijing of

China ‘under-representing’ true impact of Covid outbreak, says WHO

The World Health Organization has accused China of “under-representing” the severity of its Covid outbreak and criticized its “narrow” definition of what constitutes a Covid death, as top global health officials urge Beijing to share more data about the explosive spread. “We continue to ask China for more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive,

China’s new supercarrier will soon undergo first sea trials, officer says

The Chinese navy’s massive new aircraft carrier, the CNS Fujian, is expected to head to sea for the first time this year, the ship’s executive officer said in an interview with state media. In a report on the interview published Tuesday by state-run China Daily, Senior Capt. Qian Shumin did not give an exact date for when the aircraft carrier will undergo its first sea excursions, saying only