Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 371

China Threatens to Crack Skulls After Japan's Shinzo Abe Speaks Up for Taiwan

China lashed out at Shinzo Abe on Wednesday after Japan's former prime minister said a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an "emergency" for both Tokyo and Washington. In his most direct remarks on the subject yet, Abe had told a Taiwanese think tank earlier the same day that the Chinese leadership, including Xi Jinping himself, needed to exercise restraint.China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Giant China, tiny Laos link up with launch of high-speed train

A Lao Buddhist monk splashed holy water to bless a high-speed train that a Chinese diplomat called the “railway dream of the Lao people” on Thursday, the soft opening of a long-awaited $6 billion railway connecting the two Asian neighbors. After five years of blasting 75 tunnels and building 77 bridges through the mountainous jungle terrain of northern Laos, the China-Laos Railway will start

Xinjiang: Twitter closes thousands of China state-linked accounts spreading propaganda

Twitter has shut down thousands of state-linked accounts in China that seek to counter evidence of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, as part of what experts called an “embarrassingly” produced propaganda operation. The operations used photos and images, shell and potentially automated accounts, and fake Uyghur profiles, to disseminate state propaganda and fake testimonials about their happy lives

Peng Shuai needs more than ‘quiet diplomacy’. If she can be silenced, no Chinese athletes are safe

When I first experienced abuse as an athlete, I made a vow to myself to never tell anyone. Ever. I was worried that I wouldn’t be believed, but also the thought that anyone would know me as a “victim” mortified me. On top of that, I knew that even if I told anyone, nothing would change. I was both right and wrong. Years later, after I stopped competing in figure skating, I broke my own silence on

Laos-China railway to launch as debt to Beijing mounts

Laos, a nation of 7 million people wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, is opening a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links China’s poor southwest to foreign markets but piles on potentially risky debt. The line through lush tropical mountains from the Laotian capital, Vientiane, to Kunming is one of hundreds of projects under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by

EU Lawmaker in Taiwan Takes Aim at Xi Jinping's Attack 'Clowns'

Lithuanian lawmaker pushed back against Chinese state media criticism this week after European delegates visiting Taiwan were likened to paid "political actors."Lawmakers from the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia met Taiwan's top leadership in Taipei on Monday as part of a week-long tour of the island. China's Foreign Ministry has led ongoing opposition to the visit, which it sees

China protested Indonesian drilling, military exercises

China told Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea earlier this year, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unprecedented demand, which has not previously been reported, elevated tensions over natural resources between the two countries in a volatile area

What is Europe's billion-euro plan to rival China's Belt & Road project?

The European Commission announced Wednesday the "Global Gateway," a plan to mobilise 300 billion euros in public and private infrastructure investment around the world, a move seen as a response to China's Belt and Road strategy.  "Global Gateway will aim at mobilising investments of up to 300 billion euros between 2021 and 2027... bringing together resources of the EU, member states, European

'NO RETURN': China's warning to 'delusional' Australia

Beijing has again rejected the Morrison government's persistent commentary about China's presence in the Indo-Pacific, branding Defence Minister Peter Dutton as "deluded". Mr Dutton's unwavering, vocal stance on China continued on Friday with a frank address at the National Press Club where he warned of forming "dark clouds" thanks to China "using its increasing power to compel compliance at the

China's navy buildup really is remarkable, but it may create a new set of headaches for Beijing

The rise of China's navy (PLAN) has truly been remarkable by any benchmark anyone could reasonably set. Since the dawn of ironclad navies, the world has seen at least four major, massive naval expansions from negligible foundations. In the years before World War I, both the US Navy and the Imperial German Navy expanded from nearly negligible foundations to build world-challenging fleets. At the