Torbjørn Færøvik's Blog, page 63

‘The president is obsessed’: Trump fixates on Xi call amid faltering trade talks

President Donald Trump thinks a call with China’s leader Xi Jinping will help reset souring trade talks. But even if that conversation happens this week, as the White House said is “likely,” it’s doubtful to be the breakthrough Trump is hoping for.“The president is obsessed with having a call with Xi,” said one person familiar with the trade talks, convinced he can personally hash out deep-seated

Cold Fix: Inside China’s Audacious Effort to Save a Dying Glacier

Glacier scientist Wang Feiteng has run the numbers, tracked the symptoms, and watched an ice sheet the size of 56 football fields shrink, year after year. Everything points to one outcome: without urgent intervention, the Dagu Glacier will be gone by 2029. “It’s like a patient with terminal cancer. No one can stop the inevitable,” the 45-year-old scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in

Trump’s tariff threat exposes China’s tight grip on the global pharmaceuticals industry

It’s the most prescribed antibiotic in the United States, used by tens of millions of people every year to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia, stomach ulcers, and strep throat. Yet, it isn’t exactly common knowledge that amoxicillin, a relative of penicillin that has been in chronic short supply, has only one manufacturer in the US, or that China controls 80% of the raw materials

He survived an assassination attempt. Now South Korea’s new president must heal divisions and tread cautiously with Trump

At age 14 he was an impoverished factory worker. On Wednesday, he became the leader of one of Asia’s most powerful economies, a US ally and cultural juggernaut. But after sweeping to a decisive victory over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on Tuesday, Lee Jae-myung faces a daunting task. South Korea remains deeply divided, Lee’s predecessor having declared martial law in a short-lived power grab

South Korea's new president has a Trump-shaped crisis to avert

South Korea's new president, Lee Jae-myung, has secured a storming victory, but his honeymoon will barely last the day. The former opposition leader is not getting to enjoy the two-month transition period usually afforded to new leaders, so they can build their team and nail down their vision for the country. Instead he is entering office immediately, to fill the hole left by the impeachment of

‘Am I that scary?’: Tiananmen Mother, 88, marks son’s death, still faces surveillance

An 88-year-old mother whose son died in the 1989 Tiananmen massacre has trouble even walking to a Beijing cemetery to commemorate his passing every June 4, but authorities still keep her under surveillance. “Am I that scary?” she asks. Zhang Xianling is one of the founding members of the Tiananmen Mothers group that represents the families of victims of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters

Torbjørn Færøvik: "Operation Yellowbird" og flukten til friheten

Tiden flyr. I morgen er det 36 år siden et folkelig opprør i Beijing ble slått ned med rå makt. Flere hundre unge kinesere, hvis ikke flere tusen, ble drept. Men hvor ble det av dem som overlevde?Mange ble arrestert og havnet i fengsel, andre ble sendt på omskolering. Men noen, et mindretall, klarte å unngå politiets klør og ble til slutt smuglet ut av landet. Bak den hemmelige “Operation

Chinese students face uncertain future as US imposes visa crackdown

Chinese students who account for about one quarter of overseas students in the United States voiced anxiety Thursday as the Trump administration paused visa interviews and announced tougher screening of applicants to American universities. In the U.S., Chinese students expressed worries they may not be able to travel freely, and one student who is a human rights activist said she now felt

Book Review: Michael Luo tells the harrowing story of Chinese exclusion in America

The history of Chinese immigrants in America has always been about much more than one particular ethnic group. As Michael Luo’s “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America” demonstrates, understanding America’s efforts to keep Chinese laborers out, and the violence enacted against those who stayed in, is essential to understanding the evolution of

Trump’s China rant can’t hide his trade war retreat

“China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”That’s how US President Donald Trump exploded on Truth Social on May 30, accusing China of breaching a trade agreement. But the all-caps fury betrays something deeper: an American leader who’s cornered, not commanding. Trump’s tantrum was triggered by China’s accelerating export