Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 307

China eases control to let ruble fall faster against yuan

China is easing government exchange rate controls to let the Russian ruble fall faster in value against the Chinese yuan to help insulate Beijing from economic sanctions on Moscow. The margin by which the ruble is allowed to fluctuate against the yuan in state-controlled daily trading will be doubled in size to 10% above or below the day’s opening price starting Friday, the China Foreign Exchange

Premier Li offers China’s help for ‘grave’ Ukraine situation

China’s Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and offered Beijing’s help in playing a “positive role” for peace while continuing to refuse to criticize Russia. China has largely sided with Russia in the conflict, which it has refused to refer to as a war or invasion. The U.S. accuses Beijing of helping spread false news and disinformation coming out of Moscow.China

Taiwan minister: China war a disaster regardless of outcome

A conflict with China, which threatens to invade Taiwan, would be a disaster for all sides regardless of the outcome, the island’s defense minister said Thursday. China has largely backed Russia in invading Ukraine, a conflict that has echoes in Beijing’s approach to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that it claims as Chinese territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. “Nobody wants

S. Korean president-elect pledges tougher stance on N. Korea

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday he will solidify an alliance with the United States, build a powerful military and sternly cope with North Korean provocations, hours after he won a hard-fought election to become the country’s next leader.Yoon, a conservative whose single five-year term begins in May, said during the campaign that he would make a stronger alliance with the

The invasion of Ukraine puts Beijing in an uncomfortable position. That doesn’t mean it will distance itself from Moscow

Can China play peacemaker? That is the faint hope now being seized upon by western leaders desperate to end the bloodshed in Ukraine. “It has to be China,” said Josep Borrell, the UN foreign policy chief. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has said that “China is interested in stopping this war”. On Tuesday, Xi Jinping made his strongest statement on the war yet as the French president

China builds new bridge to Hong Kong to rush in workers as Covid cases surge

A temporary bridge linking Shenzhen and Hong Kong has been erected to help workers and materials from the mainland to enter the city as work began on a Covid-19 makeshift hospital to relieve pressure on the city’s overwhelmed medical system.Almost 2,000 Chinese contractors from the China State Construction Engineering are in Hong Kong this week to build the makeshift facility near Hong Kong’s

On Ukraine, the world acts; on Myanmar, it waits

The people of Myanmar may be in solidarity with their Ukrainian brethren, but they have every reason to be infuriated by the contrasting response from the international community to the crisis they face at home. Western nations and key Asian allies responded within days to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with tough sanctions and weapon supplies. The international reaction to the bloody military

What Russian aggression in Ukraine means for Southeast Asia

Russia is attacking Ukraine, an act of aggression that could upend the global order. This is a clear violation of the sovereignty of a state, a central principle of international law. Yet the response from across the capitals of Southeast Asia has been muted, despite the extremely dangerous precedent that it sets. President Vladimir Putin’s goal is not to take over Ukraine. He wants a compliant

Hundreds of Lao women trapped in Chinese-run SEZ, unable to pay off debt

On International Women’s Day, members of the official Lao Women’s Union say that women in the Southeast Asian country still lack equality and suffer significant exploitation, violence and human trafficking — especially those who are recruited to work in a Chinese-run special economic zone. Poverty has driven many to seek purportedly well-paying jobs in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in

Potala Palace self-immolation protester identified as popular Tibetan singer

A Tibetan man who shouted slogans and set himself on fire last week in a protest in front of the iconic Potala Palace in the Tibet regional capital Lhasa has been identified as a popular contemporary Tibetan singer, sources in the region and in India told RFA Saturday. Tsewang Norbu, 25, died after his Feb. 25 self-immolation. Initial accounts said he was thwarted by police, but RFA later