Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 338

Hanbok at Beijing Winter Olympics opening sparks South Korean anger

China and South Korea have become embroiled in a cultural appropriation row after a woman appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing winter Olympics wearing traditional Korean dress. The Chinese embassy in Seoul defended the decision to include a participant wearing hanbok, describing her as a representative of the country’s dozens of ethnic groups.Her appearance sparked anger among many

‘Someone else’s festival’: No North Korea at ally’s Olympics

During the last Winter Games, North Korea basked in the global limelight in South Korea, with hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders and officials pushing hard to woo their South Korean and U.S. rivals in a bid for diplomacy that has since stalled.Four years later, as the 2022 Winter Olympics come to its main ally and neighbor China, North Korea isn’t sending any athletes and officials — ignoring the

What message did China send by choosing Uyghur torchbearer?

As soon as a Uyghur athlete helped light the Olympic flame at the Beijing Olympics, the debate began: Was it a defiant signal from Chinese leaders, or proof that protests around the world were having impact The selection of Dinigeer Yilamujiang for the supreme honor of being a final Olympic torchbearer at the ceremony that opened the Winter Games in Beijing on Friday night was a huge

Inside the Olympic bubble, looking for China — or ‘China’

Explore Guangzhou’s old city. Wander a historic neighborhood in Shanghai. Visit with the giant pandas out west in Sichuan province. All these experiences are available to those attending the Beijing Olympics. By videolink — without ever leaving the press center.Welcome to China. But not really.The Olympics are usually a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the host country to showcase its culture

Mount Everest: Mountain's highest glacier melting rapidly, new study shows

Climate change is causing the highest glacier on Mount Everest to melt at a rapid pace, a new study has found. Researchers led by the University of Maine found that the South Col Glacier has lost more than 180ft (54m) of thickness in the last 25 years. The glacier, which sits around 7,906m (25,938 ft) above sea-level, is thinning 80 times faster than it first took the ice to form on the

Eileen Gu: US-China tension is trickiest slope for Olympic free skier

On Monday, world champion skier Eileen Gu made her Olympic debut in the women's big air qualification round. But even before that, Ms Gu - also known as China's "Snow Princess" - had already been known to millions. A teenage US-born athlete, Ms Gu is indisputably a gifted skier. At 18, she has already won eight international skiing events, claiming gold for the big air event in the 2020 Winter

Peng Shuai: Chinese tennis star again denies sex assault in interview

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has again denied alleging sexual assault, in her first interview with Western media since she accused a Chinese party leader of coercing her into sex. Peng spoke to French newspaper L'Equipe on Sunday at the Winter Olympics. She sparked global concern last year after briefly disappearing from public view following her online accusation. She has since dismissed these

China takes action after skater's brutal blunder at Winter Olympics

Chinese censors appeared to step in on Sunday when online trolls mercilessly attacked a US-born figure skater who took a tumble at the Beijing Games. 19-year-old Beverly Zhu, who was born and raised in the United States but now competes for China under the name Zhu Yi, came last in the women's singles short program in the team event in Beijing. In a very nervy performance, Zhu fell early in her

Trial of protesters against Beijing Olympics postponed in Greece

The trial in Greece of activists who protested against Beijing holding the Winter Olympics has been postponed amid accusations that proceedings were delayed to avoid embarrassing China on the eve of the Games. The highly anticipated hearing had been due to take place on Thursday in the town of Pyrgos, with human rights lawyers travelling from the UK and Athens to attend. The activists, who

UN’s Guterres says he expects China to let rights chief pay ‘credible’ visit to Xinjiang

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres told leaders in Beijing he expects them to allow UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to make a “credible” visit to China including a stop in the Xinjiang region, his spokesman said on Saturday. Guterres met with Chinese president Xi Jinping and foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, according to a readout of their talks.The UN