Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 346

China: Is it burdening poor countries with unsustainable debt?

China has faced criticism for its lending practices to poorer countries, accused of leaving them struggling to repay debts and therefore vulnerable to pressure from Beijing. But that is rejected by China, which accuses some in the West of promoting this narrative to tarnish its image. It says: "There is not a single country that has fallen into [a] so-called 'debt trap' as a result of borrowing

Xi'an: The messy cost of China's Covid lockdown playbook

With residents pleading for help while locked in their homes, and accounts of people being turned away from hospitals, the stories emerging from the Chinese city of Xi'an in recent days may sound all too familiar. All 13 million residents have been on lockdown the past two weeks and harsh measures have been put in place to battle an outbreak, with more 1,800 cases detected so far.Local

Taiwan setting up $200m Lithuania fund amid China row

Taiwan has said it will set up a $200m (£148m) fund to invest in Lithuania as it tries to fend off Chinese diplomatic and trade pressure on the Baltic state. Taipei said it aims to make its first investment later this year and the money is guaranteed by its national development fund and central bank. It comes after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there, a potential sign of

Poverty, inequality and corruption: why Kazakhstan’s former leader is no longer untouchable

For years, Nursultan Nazarbayev has been used to performative adoration from the citizens of Kazakhstan. The country’s leader for nearly three decades, he was showered with praise and adulation at showpiece events, and his image smiled down from billboards across the country.When he stepped down in 2019, he was able to choose his successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and kept significant power as

Australia and Japan to sign defense and security cooperation treaty

Australia and Japan are set to sign a treaty to strengthen defense and security cooperation at a virtual summit on Thursday, after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida canceled trips to Australia and the United States due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the two leaders will sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will for the first time set out a

Omicron: Curfew in Delhi as India Covid cases surge

India is bracing for a third wave of coronavirus as its largest cities - the capital Delhi and financial hub Mumbai - see a surge in cases. India reported 58,097 cases on Wednesday, a six-fold rise in a week that experts say is fuelled by the Omicron variant. Nearly a third of those infections came from Delhi and Mumbai. Both cities have brought back curfews and other restrictions to halt the

North Korea launches ballistic missile into sea

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea, South Korea's defence minister has said. The launch was first reported by the Japanese coast guard early on Wednesday, before being confirmed by defence authorities in Seoul later. The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests. This is the first missile launch by Pyongyang after leader Kim Jong-Un pledged to bolster

Activists urge Tesla to close new Xinjiang showroom

American activists are appealing to Tesla Inc. to close a new showroom in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, where officials are accused of abuses against mostly Muslim ethnic minorities. Tesla on Friday announced the opening of its showroom in Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital, and said on its Chinese social media account, “Let’s start Xinjiang’s all-electric journey!”The Council on

Xi’an Residents Anxious as City Enters Day 13 of COVID-19 Lockdown

As the northwestern city of Xi’an entered its 13th day of lockdownimposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, residents shared anguished stories similar to those that emerged during the initial outbreak in early 2020. Several residents complained online of the difficulties in securing food supplies, even after local authorities promised free door-to-door food delivery on Dec. 28, five days after they

Detained, missing, close to death: the toll of reporting on Covid in China

Chen Kun was living in Indonesia with his wife and daughter when he learned from his brother Mei’s boss that he had been “taken away for investigation” by Chinese police. He immediately suspected it was to do with his brother’s website, a citizen news project called Terminus 2049. Since 2018 Mei, his colleague Cai Wei, and Cai’s partner – surnamed Tang – had been archiving articles about issues