Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 273

China’s President Xi battles to save face as Covid U-turn weakens his grip on power

China’s leader Xi Jinping told his country it stands on “the right side of history” in a new year address on Saturday, but experts have warned that the president starts 2023 diminished by his chaotic U-turn on Covid strategy. He may struggle to deflect blame for the human and economic costs of zero-Covid’s failure, and control the national narrative, even if public signs of dissent are

SHRINKING BIRTH RATES ACCELERATE CHINA’S DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

While Xi Jinping may profess confidence that “the East is rising and the West is declining,” China’s birth rates are rapidly diminishing. Recently released official statistics suggest continued deepening of looming demographic crises that the government has struggled to avert through various attempts to incentivize marriage and procreation. The endurance of restrictive COVID-19 policies and a

PROTEST SONGS: “URUMQI EAST,” “IF YOU WON’T TAKE THE LEAD,” “CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT YOUR PAIN WAS LIKE,” “DOWN WITH TYRANNY … NO MORE EMPEROR XI!”

The recent protests commemorating victims of the November 24 fire in Urumqi and criticizing harsh pandemic measures and repressive government policies employed a wide variety of protest-themed slogans, artwork, poems, essays, and songs. Some of the songs, such as “Do You Hear the People Sing?” or “The Internationale,” are familiar from previous protests, whereas others are new, referencing

Torbjørn Færøvik: Årets tapere er Vladimir Putin og Xi Jinping

Året som snart er over, ender med to klare tapere, Vladimir Putin og Xi Jinping. Alt tyder på at de vil fremstå som tapere også i 2023. Hovedgrunnen er at de lever isolert fra den virkelighet som omgir dem. Både Russland og Kina befinner seg i en systemkrise, og følgene for verden kan bli alvorlige. De to tyrannene innledet 2022 med store ord og tilsynelatende grenseløse ambisjoner. Tidlig i

As COVID Surges, Chinese Turn to Black Market for Antiviral Drugs

The lack of availability of a crucial COVID-19 drug has fostered a black market in China, as the country battles its worst coronavirus outbreak following the abrupt relaxation of stringent virus control measures earlier this month.With a severe shortage of approved antivirals such as Paxlovid, which is manufactured by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Chinese residents have resorted to

As Cities Ride the Surge, How Rural China Can Brace for Covid Impact

After three years of stringent COVID-19 measures, China began relaxing restrictions on Nov. 30. Most recently, on Dec. 26, the National Health Commission announced that China’s management of the pandemic would be downgraded, and that incoming travellers would no longer be required to quarantine.In the month since the policy shift, COVID-19 cases have surged across the country. Beijing, Shanghai,

Covid in China: Officials must share data on its impact, says WHO

Chinese officials must share more real-time information on Covid in the country as infections surge, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Many of the country's strict restrictions have been lifted over the last few weeks, but cases have soared and several countries are now screening travellers from China. WHO officials say they want to see more data on hospitalisations, intensive care

Kinesisk general veiledet forsker i Norge

"Som en som arbeider med forsvarsteknologi, må jeg alltid være lydig overfor partiet og følge partiet, og jeg må huske på det president Xi har betrodd meg til å gjøre."Det sier professor Song Junqiang i en artikkel fra det statlige kinesiske nyhetsbyrået Xinhua, som blant annet er publisert på de offisielle nettsidene til Folkerepublikken Kinas statsråd – landets regjering. I midten av november

Chinese tourists are ready to travel abroad again. Here's why some countries are hesitant

A surging Covid outbreak in China. Countries imposing travel restrictions on Chinese travelers, wary of the virus being imported. Scientists warning against fearmongering and xenophobia. But this isn't early 2020. The familiar scene is playing out now as China battles its biggest-ever outbreak, after abandoning its stringent zero-Covid approach and partially reopening its border three years into

China has abandoned its zero-Covid policy. What will the economy look like in 2023?

As China moves ever closer to fully reemerging from three years of government-imposed Covid isolation and reintegrating with the world, economic expectations are high. Beijing’s recent pivot from its stringent zero-Covid strategy — which had long choked businesses — is expected to inject vitality into the world’s second-largest economy next year.Covid lockdowns and border curbs have left China