Torbjørn Færøvik: New Delhi - fra hageby til gasskammer

Edwin het han, og vi må anta at han gråt da han ble født. Men med årene smilte han fra øre til øre, og som arkitekt av den klassiske skolen ble han en suksess. I 1912 ble han til og med forespurt om å tegne en splitter ny by, New Delhi, og han takket ja med én gang.

Calcutta hadde lenge vært hovedstad i Britisk India, men tidlig på 1900-tallet mente britene at de trengte en ny. «Gamle» Delhi viste seg å være uegnet, for byen var forfallen og kaotisk, og gatene var så altfor trange. Dermed ble 42 år gamle Edwin Lutyens  - en ekte sønn av London - kalt til dåd.

Resultatet ble en flunkende ny hovedstad som også ble omtalt som «The Garden City». For her var det alléer, hager og grønne lunger, og luften var ren og klar. Men i dag? Innbyggerne får knapt nok puste, og tusener dør av lungesykdommer hvert eneste år. 

Nå er vi i desember, og forurensningen er verre enn noensinne.

Torbjørn Færøvik: China Is Rising — but Not for the First Time in History

 “China is winning on all fronts,” goes the refrain as the year draws to a close. The country has not only won the trade war with the United States; it is also on its way to becoming a high-tech superpower.

These claims are largely true, and many people ask: How has a country that was so poor fifty years ago managed to rise so abruptly? The answer is, of course, complex, but much of the explanation lies in the fact that China’s ancient creative capacity never completely disappeared. It merely lay dormant—until Mao’s successors roused it into action.

In our Europe-centred historical tradition, we are prone to overlook the fact that China was for centuries an economic and political great power. The red thread running through Marco Polo’s travel account from the second half of the thirteenth century is the prosperity he witnessed. “The Chinese surpass all other nations in refinement and in knowledge of many things,” he wrote.

Torbjørn Færøvik: Kina reiser seg, men ikke for første gang i historien

Kina seirer på alle fronter, lyder omkvedet idet året ebber ut. Landet har ikke bare vunnet handelskrigen med USA, men er også i ferd med å bli en høyteknologisk supermakt.

Påstandene stemmer langt på vei, og mange spør: Hvordan har et land som var så fattig for femti år siden, klart å reise seg så brått? Svaret er naturligvis komplisert, men mye av forklaringen er at Kinas eldgamle skaperevne aldri helt forsvant. Den ble bare liggende i dvale – inntil Maos etterfølgere vekket den til dåd.

I vår Europa-sentrerte historietradisjon har vi lett for å overse at Kina i århundrer var en økonomisk og politisk stormakt. Den røde tråden i Marco Polos reiseberetning fra 1200-tallets andre halvdel er velstanden han så. «Kineserne er alle andre nasjoner overlegne i dannelse og kunnskap om mange ting», skrev han.

20 Million Gen Z Are Jobless in Urban China

The unemployment total for young Chinese city‑dwellers stood at roughly 20 million, or about 12 percent, according to a Newsweek analysis of the latest statistics from China's statistics bureau.The figure is a sign that the general economic recovery and a raft of stimulus measures have not eased the economic pressure facing China’s young people.

The world’s second‑largest economy has had a bumpy ride since the end of its strict COVID‑era lockdowns, amid slowing growth, tepid consumer demand and a years‑long real estate downturn.

Youth, defined in China as ages 15 to 24, have been particularly hard hit, as job competition intensifies amid record numbers of university graduates—a trend that analysts warn could threaten the Chinese Communist Party’s top priority: social stability.

Read more

China’s Population Crisis—Xi’s Greatest Test in 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has linked child rearing with national progress, faces the challenge of slowing, if not halting, a looming demographic crunch. Over two-thirds of the world's population now live in countries with fertility rates below the replacement level, or the rate of 2.1 births per woman necessary to sustain a population. And despite the significant amount of resources some governments have thrown at the problem, there have been few success stories so far.

China's total fertility rate, or births per woman during her lifetime, is among the lowest in the world, driven by an arduous and competitive work culture, the rising cost of living, workplace discrimination and fears of losing out on career, and changing attitudes among younger generations. And while the fertility rate ticked upward last year, this was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic's delaying effect on births and because 2024 was an auspicious Year of the Dragon.

Read more

Canada’s time to ditch US and go with China

US President Donald Trump has mused about destroying Canada’s economy as a prelude to annexing the country and making it America’s “51st state.” Trump threatenedto increase tariffs on Canadian products after seeing an anti-tariff TV advertisement sponsored by the government of Ontario.

Most Canadian goods entering the US remain tariff-free, provided they comply with the Canada-US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA). However, that agreement is under review in 2026 and was being renegotiated before Trump’s outburst led him to suspend the talks. The American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, regularly threatens and insults Canadians.

Canadians are anxious about the US as it declines into authoritarianism and government-sponsored racism. A president willing to unleash the National Guard on American cities, ignore judicial orders, use the Justice Department to pursue his political opponents, assault and corrupt American higher education, execute people in international waters and attack the liberal democratic foundations of the state may indeed use the US military against Canada.

Read more

Thai-Cambodia conflict escalates perilously from land to sea

The US-trained Royal Thai Navy on Saturday (December 20) geared up to stop all Thai ships in the Gulf of Thailand transporting fuel and military supplies to Cambodia, the first major use of the artillery-firing navy in the five-month-long border war.

The US Seventh Fleet uses the Gulf of Thailand when its aircraft carriers and other vessels dock near Bangkok at Sattahip port where Thailand’s First Naval Area Command is based to secure the gulf, which is peppered with inhabited Thai and Cambodian islands, navy facilities and oil rigs.

In addition to intercepting Thai ships, including fishing and commercial vessels, the navy said it would stop Thai-owned ships sailing under foreign flags and registrations, if they are suspected of transporting fuel, weapons, ammunition or other military equipment across the gulf to reach Cambodia’s south coast.

Thai shipping companies facilitating their travel, vessels’ owners, suppliers, chandlers and others linked to Thai ships violating the ban would also be held responsible, officials said.

Read more

China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to deal with their aging batteries.

Wang, who is 39, had bought the car in 2016, when EVs still felt experimental in Beijing. It was a compact Chinese brand. The subsidies were good, and the salesman talked about “supporting domestic innovation.” At the time, only a few people around him were driving on batteries. He liked being early.

But now, the car’s range had started to shrink as the battery’s health declined. He could have replaced the battery, but the warranty had expired; the cost and trouble no longer felt worth it. He also wanted an upgrade, so selling became the obvious choice.

His vague plans turned into action after he started seeing ads on Douyin from local battery recyclers. He asked around at a few recycling places, and the highest offer came from a smaller shop on the outskirts of town. He added the contact on WeChat, and the next day someone drove over to pick up his car. He got paid 8,000 yuan. With the additional automobile scrappage subsidy offered by the Chinese government, Wang ultimately pocketed about 28,000 yuan.

Read more

US tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price

The white dome of Boudhanath rises like a silent guardian over the chaotic sprawl of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, crowned by a golden spire that pierces the sky. Painted on each of the spire’s four sides are the benevolent eyes of the Buddha — wide, calm, and unblinking — said to see all that unfolds below.

Those eyes have served as a symbol of sanctuary for generations of Tibetans fleeing the Chinese crackdown in their homeland. But today, Tibetan refugees are also watched by far more malevolent eyes: Thousands of CCTV cameras from China, perched on street corners and rooftops to monitor every movement below. This intense surveillance has stifled the once-vibrant Free Tibet movement that had resonated around the world.

Read more

PHOTO ESSAY: Under watch by Chinese tech, the Tibetan community in Nepal is slowly suffocating

In Nepal, the unseen eye has changed Tibetan life. The cameras are not just machines perched on the thick bundles of wires that twist through narrow lanes of Kathmandu in Nepal. They are a presence, an unseen watcher that Tibetans have learned to fear.

Read more

Chinese Weapons Fueling Both Sides of Neighboring Border War

Thailand is looking into guided anti-tank missiles the army captured along the border amid the fighting with Cambodia that has renewed. The GAM‑102LR is a fifth‑generation precision‑guided anti‑tank missile (ATGM) developed in China.

The Royal Thai Army said the captured missiles are in its custody and will not be handed over to anyone, according to Thai Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Beijing’s defense exports are increasingly visible in regional conflicts, illustrating how Chinese military technology is shaping security dynamics in Southeast Asia. China has supplied VT‑4 tanks to the Royal Thai Army, based on a 2017 agreement.

Read more

Why China Is Suing Missouri—And Demanding $50 Billion

China is suing Missouri and demanding $50 billion over a court judgment related to the COVID-19 pandemic. China has filed a lawsuit to attack the State of Missouri, according to Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who has indicated that she is now moving toward seizing Chinese assets.

Earlier this year, Hanaway won a landmark $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and affiliated entities for their role in "unleashing and worsening" the coronavirus pandemic—and the attorney general is determined to collect.

"This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along," said Hanaway. "We stand undeterred in our mission to collect on our $24 billion judgment that was lawfully handed down in federal court."

Read more

China Furious With US Ally’s Plan To Militarize Strategic Island

China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued a strongly worded protest over Japan’s plan to deploy a military surveillance radar unit to a remote island to monitor Chinese navy vessels entering the Pacific. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun compared Japan's "military buildup" on the island of Kitadaito—apparently a response to China's ambitions regarding Taiwan—to Tokyo's expansionism in the lead-up to World War II.

The planned unit will boost monitoring of Chinese carriers and aircraft operating near Japan's southwestern islands. Japan’s government is concerned about China’s military expansion and movements, with the People’s Liberation Army increasingly operating farther afield and closer to Japanese territory.

Read more

Why US giant Chevron, not China, may save oil-rich Venezuela

Speculation over President Nicolas Maduro's political future has intensified after US forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country's coast. The incident on Wednesday underscored Washington's longstanding interest in a nation that holds the world's largest proven oil reserves — an interest shared, albeit for different reasons, by China.

"Whoever comes to power, I can assure you, the first call will be Trump, but the second will be Xi Jinping," said Parsifal D'Sola Alvarado, a specialist in China–Latin America relations.

D'Sola Alvarado heads the Fundacion Andres Bello (Latin American-Chinese Research Center) based in Bogota, Colombia and the Spanish capital, Madrid. He previously worked with Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido, where he managed contacts with Chinese officials.

Speaking with DW, D'Sola Alvarado said he doubts China would stand firmly behind Maduro in the event of a confrontation with Washington.

Read more

Japan raises its UN presence to counter China's influence

A record number of Japanese nationals are working for United Nations agencies around the world.

This growth is the outcome of a five-year plan to install experts in key positions in the sprawling international organization and to counter what Tokyo perceives as China using the UN to exert greater influence over other nations.

While the experts, analysts and bureaucrats who work for the UN are meant to be non-partisan in their decision-making, Japan is among the nations that have become concerned that instead of remaining neutral, China is utilizing the UN to further its own geopolitical aims.

Some Japanese observers say that while Beijing uses vast amounts of aid to woo developing nations and is rapidly expanding its military capabilities, diplomacy through a multilateral organization such as the UN gives it another tool with which to sway other nations.

Read more

China says U.S. will only ‘harm itself’ after Washington approves $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan

The U.S. on Thursday approved $11.15 billion in arms sale to Taiwan, reportedly its largest deal to the island as it faces growing threats from China and has been a subject of diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.

The move drew a sharp response from Beijing, with its foreign affairs spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, accusing the U.S. of violating the “one-China principle.”  “By aiding Taiwan’s independence through arms sales, the U.S. will only end up harming itself. Any attempt to use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail,” Guo said, according to a CNBC translation of his speech in Mandarin.

The Taiwanese defense ministry said the sale — comprising artillery systems, antitank missiles, as well as spare parts for helicopters and antiship missiles — falls under the $40 billion supplementary defense budget announced by President Lai Ching-te in November.

Read more

U.S. launches review of advanced Nvidia AI chip sales to China: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a review that could result in the first shipments to China of Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chips, five sources said, making good on his pledge to allow the controversial sales. Trump this month said he would allow sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, with the U.S. government collecting a 25% fee, and that the sales would help keep U.S. firms ahead of Chinese chipmakers by cutting demand for Chinese chips.

The move drew fire from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum over concerns the chips would supercharge Beijing’s military and erode the U.S. advantage in artificial intelligence.

But questions have remained about how quickly the U.S. might approve such sales and whether Beijing would allow Chinese firms to purchase the Nvidia chips.

Read more

Taiwan bans popular Chinese social media app amid growing number of fraud cases

Taiwan’s government has ordered a one-year block of a popular, Chinese-owned social media app following its failure to cooperate with authorities over fraud-related concerns. Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, has surged in popularity among young Taiwanese in recent years, amassing 3 million users in the self-ruled democracy of 23 million. But the Instagram-like platform has also stoked concerns among officials that it could be used in pro-Beijing propaganda or disinformation campaigns, which Taiwan says it has been battling for years.

China’s Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it, and has vowed to annex it by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior on Thursday cited Xiaohongshu’s refusal to cooperate with authorities as the basis for the ban, claiming that the platform has been linked to more than 1,700 fraud-related cases that resulted in financial losses of 247.7 million Taiwanese dollars ($7.9 million).

Read more