Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 278

Apple has a huge problem with its supplier’s iPhone factory in China

A violent workers’ revolt at the world’s largest iPhone factory this week in central China is further scrambling Apple’s strained supply and highlighting how the country’s stringent zero-Covid policy is hurting global technology firms.The troubles started last month when workers left the factory campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid fears. Short on staff,

US bans new Huawei equipment sales over ‘unacceptable risk’ to national security

The Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Friday it had adopted the final rules, which also bar the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology, video

China Covid: Record number of cases as virus surges nationwide

China has recorded its highest number of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began, despite stringent measures designed to eliminate the virus. Several major cities including the capital Beijing and southern trade hub Guangzhou are experiencing outbreaks.Wednesday saw 31,527 cases recorded compared with an April peak of 28,000. The numbers are still tiny for a country of 1.4 billion people and

Taiwan votes in local elections amid China tensions

Millions in Taiwan are heading to the polls as the island's local midterm elections kick off on Saturday. Local council and city mayors are elected in the polls, which are held every four years. But these elections are also drawing global attention this year as Taiwan becomes a bigger geopolitical flashpoint between China and the US.The Chinese government sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that

Hunting Down China’s Internet Trolls

For six months after my story went to press, I didn’t dare open QQ. This April, I used the popular messaging platform to make contact with a group of trolls active on Chinese social media as part of a reporting project for the Chinese magazine Sanlian Lifeweek. The past few years have witnessed a number of tragedies caused by cyberbullying and coordinated harassment campaigns. Given the mounting

How Hate Speech Falls Through the Cracks of the Chinese Internet

This April, after enduring days of escalating online harassment, the mother of a 7-year-old — known online simply as the “Shanghai woman” — jumped to her death from her apartment building.The attacks centered on, of all things, a “thank you” post the woman wrote to a delivery driver who had travelled 27 kilometers to bring food to her father during the city’s COVID-19 lockdown. Although she

Over 59 Million Older Chinese Will Need Care by 2030, Study Says

China’s population is aging at a rapid pace, and its health is deteriorating just as fast. By 2030, it is estimated that an additional 14 million elderly Chinese will show a severe inability to perform several daily activities, and will therefore require more care according to a new study published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet Public Health. The number of the elderly with difficulties

China’s Covid cases hit record as dissent grows over tough restrictions

China on Thursday reported a record number of daily Covid infections, as a nationwide surge in cases heaps pressure on the country’s increasingly unpopular zero-tolerance approach to the virus. The National Health Commission (NHC) recorded 31,444 locally transmitted cases on Wednesday – surpassing the previous peak of 29,317 recorded April 13 during Shanghai’s months-long lockdown.The surge is

Torbjørn Færøvik: En glemt by skal vekke Kina til dåd

For snart femti år siden besøkte jeg Yan’an, en støvete småby i det nordvestlige Kina. Byen var omgitt av knusktørre raviner og åser på alle kanter, og for første gang noensinne fikk jeg smake på hirsegrøt. Hirse til frokost, lunsj og middag, og hvert måltid ble skyllet ned med grønn te. Hit kom Mao og hans røde armé i 1935 etter etter å ha gått den sagnomsuste Lange marsjen. Hensikten med

Xi’s ‘action men’ now lead China’s military. Here’s what that means for Taiwan

Star roles for “action men” in China’s new military leadership may hint at an increased threat of war with Taiwan, though analysts suggest Xi Jinping’s stated preference for a peaceful takeover of the island should be taken at face value – at least for now.China announced the lineup of its Central Military Commission (CMC) last weekend, just days after Xi opened the Chinese Communist Party’s