Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 320

A Chinese Student’s Escape From War-Torn Ukraine

In just over two weeks since Russia started bombing cities in Ukraine, more than 2 million people have fled to neighboring countries. Scores of foreign nationals studying or working in the European country, along with Ukrainians, have made desperate journeys to flee the invasion. Chinese student Xu Shijie is one of them. The 23-year-old landed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv last August

Ukraine crisis: US warns China against helping Russia

China will face consequences if it helps Russia evade sanctions in its invasion of Ukraine, the US says. Unnamed US officials reportedly told multiple news outlets that Russia had asked China to provide military assistance after it began the invasion. The Chinese foreign ministry did not address the allegation directly, but accused the US of maliciously spreading disinformation about China.The

US will try to convince China not to supply arms to Russia at key Rome meeting

The United States will try to persuade China not to supply arms to Russia at a high-level meeting in Rome which the White House sees as critically important not just for the war in Ukraine but also for the future of the global balance of power.Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, will meet his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in the Italian capital amid reports that Russia has asked

China shuts down city of 17.5m people in bid to halt Covid outbreak

China’s government has locked down Shenzhen, a city of 17.5 million people, as it tries to contain its worst ever Covid-19 outbreak across multiple provinces, with case numbers tripling from Saturday to Sunday. A government notice on Sunday said all residential communities were now under “closed management”, meaning they would be locked down. Every resident would undergo three rounds of testing,

China battles worst Covid outbreak for two years as cases double in 24 hours

China reported nearly 3,400 daily Covid-19 cases on Sunday, double the previous day, forcing lockdowns on virus hotspots as the country contends with its gravest outbreak in two yearsA nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai and lock down several north-eastern cities, as almost 19 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.The city of Jilin has

Ian Johnson: What keeps China from stopping Russia's war

The war in Ukraine has prompted renewed appeals for China to get involved in an international crisis, with commentators discussing how the country is well-placed to negotiate an end to the fighting. Politicians have taken up the call too: the Ukrainian foreign minister reportedly asked China to get involved, while on Tuesday European leaders video-called Chinese leader Xi Jinping in an effort to

Students trapped in quarantine beg for help online as China faces biggest Covid outbreak since 2020

China is fighting its biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, with discontent spreading on social media after one university cluster left students reportedly without access to bathrooms or drinking water. The country reported 1,100 new locally-transmitted cases on Thursday -- which, though nowhere near the level seen in other nations, is considered high by China's

Chinese tech stocks plunge after US names companies for potential delisting

Popular Chinese tech stocks have plunged after the US regulator named five Chinese companies that could be removed from American stock markets for failing to meet audit requirements. Alibaba (BABA) fell more than 6% Friday in Hong Kong. Its US-listed stock ended down 7.9% on Thursday. JD.com (JD) plummeted nearly 17% in Hong Kong, after closing 16% lower on Wall Street. Baidu(BIDU) was down 5%,

How South Korea's new president could shake up the region

South Korea's new president is taking power at a turbulent time for the country and the path he carves could shake up the region. Conservative Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party secured the election by a razor-thin margin Wednesday, pulling ahead of rival Lee Jae-myung by less than one percentage point.Yoon is a newcomer to politics, having spent the last 27 years of his career as a

China's promotion of Russian disinformation indicates where its loyalties lie

In public statements and at international summits, Chinese officials have attempted to stake out a seemingly neutral position on the war in Ukraine, neither condemning Russian actions nor ruling out the possibility Beijing could act as a mediator in a push for peace.But while its international messaging has kept many guessing as to Beijing's true intentions, much of its domestic media coverage of