Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 317

Chris Patten: Nixon-Mao at 50

In Seize the Hour, her excellent book about the first meeting between US President Richard Nixon and Communist Party of China Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing, the historian Margaret MacMillan enumerated some of the profound implications of this extraordinary encounter. The meeting, which took place 50 years ago this month, ended a long political standoff between the United States and communist

China's zero-Covid policy now looks like a 'burden' and it needs to reassess, IMF says

The International Monetary Fund's managing director said Friday that China's zero-Covid policy is increasingly looking like a "burden," which is impinging economic recovery both domestically and for the world at large. Speaking to CNBC's Geoff Cutmore via videoconference at The Davos Agenda virtual event, Kristalina Georgieva said the containment strategy, though initially successful, was now

No reversal on China's tech crackdown in sight as Xi calls for more work on laws

Chinese President Xi Jinping told top leaders to speed up work on new laws for the technology sector during a speech in early December, according to the Chinese Communist Party's bimonthly journal published Wednesday. It's a sign that regulation is not going away yet, even though the speech covers little new ground and economists expect the worst of Beijing's crackdown is over.China must "

Beijing says it is 'seriously concerned' as India cracks down on Chinese companies

Beijing said that it is "seriously concerned" about actions India has taken against Chinese companies this week, including banning apps. "Indian authorities have taken a series of repressive measures against Chinese companies and related products in India, which has seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," said Gao Feng, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce,

Why some North Korean defectors return to one of the world's most repressive regimes

He risked his life fleeing from one of the world's most repressive regimes, traversing a militarized stretch protected by barbed wire fences. Then a year later, he went back -- the way he came. More than one month since the man crossed the demilitarized zone from South to North Korea, much of his life in both countries remains a mystery -- as do his reasons for returning to the isolated nation

China's COVID Policy Not Working in Hong Kong As City Sees Over 6K Cases

Hong Kong is struggling to contain a COVID outbreak using China's "zero tolerance" policy as the city reported over 6,000 new cases Thursday and officials said Hong Kong's hospitals are at 90 percent capacity and other quarantine locations are reaching their limits.Hong Kong's current COVID policy requires anyone who tests positive to be admitted to a hospital or quarantine facility for at least

Ziba Murat: China Is Holding My Uyghur Mother Prisoner. Will President Biden Say Her Name?

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is well underway. Millions of people will likely tune in to see the spectacle that China has orchestrated—everything from the choreographed pageantry of the Opening Ceremonies to the man-made snow blanketing the ski slopes. China wants the Olympics to project its economic might and global dominance. But for me, the images on the screen will be a bleak reminder

Gordon Chang: Deterring China, Mission Possible

On February 15, embarrassed Taiwan military officials publicly admitted that a Chinese Harbin Y-12 utility plane had flown close to Dongyin, an outlying island about 30 miles from China's coast, but maintained the aircraft had not entered sovereign Taiwanese airspace. They said China appeared to have been testing Taiwan's air defenses.Ten days earlier, Dongyin residents reported that they had

China Wants to Build Moonbase as Part of Five-Year Plan to Become 'Space Power'

China has outlined big space ambitions for the coming five years, looking into a "near-Earth object defense system" and setting up an international research station on the moon. The plans were outlined in a government white paper released late last month by China's State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China. Its authors noted that over the next five years China will "start

The amateur historians chronicling Delhi's past on Instagram

Umair Shah was seven when he had his first brush with history. He met a coin dealer in his hometown, the Indian city of Kolkata (formally Calcutta), who piqued his interested in coins. As his collection grew, he began reading about the empires depicted on these metal discs."By the time I was 16, I was overcome with a crazy longing for these places and people," he said. Mr Shah, now 27, lives in