Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 277

Australia’s foreign minister denounces China’s ‘secret’ security deal with Solomon Islands

Marise Payne has denounced the “secret” terms of China’s security deal with Solomon Islands, while insisting “no document signed and kept away from public view” would change Australia’s commitment to answering Pacific countries’ needs. The foreign affairs minister said the agreement was “not transparent” – unlike Australia’s existing security treaty with Solomon Islands – and was also being

Beijing halts weddings and funerals and closes schools in Covid fightback

Beijing has closed schools and suspended weddings and funerals in the city of 22 million in a whirlwind effort to avoid plunging China’s capital into a Shanghai-style Covid lockdown. Fears that Beijing could soon be in lockdown have already prompted widespread stockpiling, leading to shortages in some supermarkets. The city’s Education Bureau ordered all city schools to end classes from Friday

Climate crisis – not China – is biggest threat to Pacific, say former leaders

Growing military tensions in the Pacific between China, the US and Australia do not address the most significant security threat to the region – climate change – former leaders of Pacific nations have warned. In a statement on Friday, the Pacific Elders Voice group, which includes former leaders of the Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati and Tuvalu, as well as Dame Meg Taylor, the former secretary

Denial of bail is silencing Hong Kong's democrats

China's national security law imposed on Hong Kong nearly two years ago has completely changed the territory's political landscape. Free speech has been curtailed, civil society groups have closed down and only Beijing-approved candidates can stand in elections. The law has also upended several long-standing legal principles - with one of the most radical changes relating to bail.Previously,

Jixian Wang: The Chinese vlogger broadcasting the Ukraine war

Earlier this year Chinese programmer Jixian Wang moved to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa for work. Months later, Russia invaded the country.Video

Why India is buying more Russian oil

As calls continue for India to keep its distance from Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine, its oil purchases from Russia have more than doubled from last year. The Indian government has defended the move to buy Russian oil, and said what it buys from Russia in a month is less than what Europe buys from Russia in an afternoon.India has taken advantage of discounted prices to ramp up oil imports

How the Lockdown Is Remaking Shanghai Neighborhoods

Late last month, Shanghai entered a “phased lockdown” as it confronted the country’s worst-ever coronavirus outbreak. The lockdown, now in its third week, has brought the lives of the city’s 25 million residents to a grinding halt. Although some neighborhoods have begun allowing residents to go outside for up to an hour a day, for the most part, only essential workers such as doctors, delivery

What it Takes to Organize a Group Buy in Locked Down Shanghai

Check out this brand-new job opportunity in locked-down Shanghai: group buy organizer. It requires you to stay online 24 hours a day, be ready for a barrage of messages anytime, and sometimes unload 45 kilograms of strawberries all alone at 2 a.m. Most importantly, the job offers absolutely no income.Under full-scale lockdown for more than two weeks, Shanghai, a city of over 25 million people, is

Shanghai Lockdown Brings Back Memories of China's Past

I lived my young adulthood during the transition from the planned economy to the opening of the market. Reform and opening up began to take shape in Shanghai in the late 80s. After I graduated from college, I was assigned to work at the Shanghai Machine Tool Factory in 1986. I soon felt that the atmosphere was changing. People around me were getting out of the system and going all over the

China Says Thousands of Companies Risk Contaminating Soil

China’s top environmental authority said that over two-thirds of companies on the government’s pollution watchlist risk contaminating the country’s soil, domestic media Caixin reportedMonday. About 70% of the 15,000 companies were found to be not adequately equipped to prevent toxic chemicals from leaking into the soil or not doing enough to prevent them, Caixin reported, citing the Ministry of