Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 369

China: We’ll make US pay the price for sanctions

China has promised tough measures in retaliation after the US sanctioned more than 40 of its institutions and companies on Thursday over human rights issues in Xinjiang. “China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes the US sanctions,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Friday. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate

Omicron knocking on China’s ‘zero Covid’ door

A trickle of Omicron cases is penetrating Hong Kong’s “zero Covid” defenses, worrying residents of a next viral wave and imperiling highly anticipated plans to reopen the border with the mainland later this month. As of Saturday, the city had identified 14 cases of the highly contagious variant. At the same time, China reported 125 new Covid-19 cases for Friday, of which 89 were local, according

US comes a-courting in Asean as it pressures Beijing. What will it achieve?

There was widespread anticipation that the United States would offer more details on its Indo-Pacific security and economic plans in Southeast Asiaduring Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to the region. But apart from criticising Beijing’s “aggressive actions” in Asia and ensuring competition with China does not veer into a “catastrophic” conflict, details on how the US plans to

Retiring China Global Times chief Hu Xijin is a tough-talking act to follow

«Washington has greatly increased its presence in the South China Sea and intervened in the political process here,» said a middle-aged man seen in a video clip, speaking slowly and calmly in heavily accented English, his eyes fixed on the camera throughout.Wearing a dark teal shirt and sporting a simple front brush haircut, the man looked benign, almost humorous. But he didn’t mince his words,

Laos opens scenic railway built on a mountain of Chinese debt

Laos opened a new US$6 billion (S$8.2 billion) rail link with China to much fanfare this month, but analysts warn the party could be short-lived as the government grapples with a potential debt crisis. The line will connect the capital Vientiane with the southern Chinese city of Kunming, and there are grand plans for a high-speed rail network running to Singapore through Thailand and

Lao-China Railway feels ‘similar to when I rode the Shinkansen in Japan’

I went to the station at 6 a.m. on the morning of December 4th and waited in line to buy the ticket for the first train leaving at 8 a.m. On the first day of passenger train operations, many people could not buy tickets before the train left. There was widespread disappointment as the passengers demanded the station start selling tickets earlier. I was able to board the EMU CR200J train, a

Chinese rights lawyer incommunicado after writing to Li Keqiang over travel ban

A prominent Chinese rights attorney is missing, believed detained, after he planned to attend an event linked to Human Rights Day at the EU representative office in Beijing on Dec. 10, RFA has learned. Tang Jitian has been incommunicado since texting friends a couple of hours before the event was due to start that it was "not safe" to attend, U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao said. Repeated

University president warns Chinese students not to harass other Chinese on campus

A U.S. university president who is a former governor of Indiana has condemned Chinese nationalist students in his state who harassed a Chinese pro-democracy graduate student for openly praising Tiananmen Square protesters. Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University, a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, sent an email to members of the campus community on Wednesday

Hong Kong: Why the Legco elections are so controversial

Hong Kong is holding its first legislative council election since China introduced sweeping changes that have altered the city's political landscape. The government says the revamped electoral system will ensure only "patriots" will be allowed to stand for election and eventually hold positions of political power. However, critics say it has weakened the city's democratic voice, eradicating

Amazon Removed Reviews of Xi Jinping's Book on Orders From Beijing: Report

Amazon elected to remove all comments and reviews tied to a listing on its Chinese site marketing the speeches and writings of the country's Communist leader Xi Jinping after Beijing issued an order demanding the feedback be removed from its site. This action took place about two years ago but reportedly wasn't covered until Reuters released a "special report" on Friday. In its report, the outlet