På besøk i Tanger har jeg bare ett i hodet - å oppsøke graven til Ibn Battuta. Ibn hvem? vil du kanskje spørre. Svaret mitt er kort og greit: Ibn Battuta var middelalderens største reisende. Ikke engang Marco Polo klarte å tilbakelegge like mange mil. «Jeg forlot Tanger, min fødeby, 13. juni 1325 for å dra på pilegrimsreise til Mekka. Jeg vinket farvel til alle vennene mine, kvinner som menn, og forlot hjemmet slik fuglen forlater sitt rede.»
Slik begynner Ibn Battuta sin eventyrlige beretning. Reisen skulle vare i 29 år og føre ham til Asias fjerneste strøk. Da han omsider fikk nok, hadde han besøkt 44 av de land vi i dag finner på verdenskartet.
Tanger ligger på Afrikas nordspiss, tvers overfor Gibraltar. Byen hadde i århundrer vært et knutepunkt for ferdselen i regionen. Her hadde fønikere, romere, vandaler, arabere og spaniere hersket i tur og orden. Hit kom karavaner fra fjern og nær, og i byens havn lå seilskuter fra halve kloden. Unge Ibn bestemte seg for å oppdage verden, og det året han fylte 22, kastet han seg på en kamel med kurs for Mekka, 450 mil unna.
lørdag 30. november 2024
VOLKSWAGEN EXITS XINJIANG AFTER CRITICISM ABOUT COMPLICITY IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
On Wednesday, German auto manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) announced that it would sell its operations in Xinjiang. The move comes after years of pressure from rights groups that have documented the Chinese government’s grave abuses—including forced labor—against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the region, and the attendant complicity of Western corporations that operate there. However, based on the company’s statements, economics rather than human rights may have been the primary motivation for its recent decision-making.
Trump has assembled a team of China hawks. How will Beijing respond?
One called China an “existential threat.” Another called for a “whole-of-society effort” to confront China and was sanctioned – twice – by Beijing. A third claimed the Chinese military was “specifically dedicated to defeating the United States of America.”
US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet is stacked with so-called China hawks who have made clear an ambition to confront America’s ascendant superpower rival in nearly every policy realm, from the economy to security. But unlike at Trump’s previous inauguration eight years ago, Chinese leaders may not be caught off-guard by a more confrontational approach. Instead, experts say this time around Beijing is more experienced in dealing with the transactional leader and the ideological hardliners around him – and may seek to establish back-channels through more China-friendly figures in Trump’s inner circle, such as Elon Musk.
US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed cabinet is stacked with so-called China hawks who have made clear an ambition to confront America’s ascendant superpower rival in nearly every policy realm, from the economy to security. But unlike at Trump’s previous inauguration eight years ago, Chinese leaders may not be caught off-guard by a more confrontational approach. Instead, experts say this time around Beijing is more experienced in dealing with the transactional leader and the ideological hardliners around him – and may seek to establish back-channels through more China-friendly figures in Trump’s inner circle, such as Elon Musk.
China plans big data warning system to prevent public killings
China’s Communist Party is stepping up the use of big data to predict people’s behavior in a bid to identify “social risks” and prevent violent attacks on members of the public in the wake of the car killings in Zhuhaiearlier this month. “We should ... deeply tap into the rich seams of political and legal data, strengthen data identification, screening, analysis and evaluation, and find ways to capture and identify risks and hidden dangers,” party law enforcement czar Ting Bai told officials on a recent inspection tour in the eastern province of Zhejiang, according to official reports.
Citing President Xi Jinping’s instructions to officials in the wake of the Nov. 11 fatal vehicle attack that left 35 dead in Zhuhai, Ting said the authorities should start responding to potential threats with preventive action “in a graded and classified manner.”
Citing President Xi Jinping’s instructions to officials in the wake of the Nov. 11 fatal vehicle attack that left 35 dead in Zhuhai, Ting said the authorities should start responding to potential threats with preventive action “in a graded and classified manner.”
Beijing tests bilateral waters with US prisoner exchange
Three Americans who Washington says were wrongfully imprisoned in China have landed back on U.S. soil as part of a rare prisoner swap with Beijing, in a move analysts said could signal China’s willingness to do further deals with the incoming Trump administration.
Mark Swidan, of Houston, Texas, Kai Li, of Long Island, New York, and John Leung, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, have been reunited with their families for the first time in years in time for Thanksgiving, Nov. 28 this year, ABC News reported.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke to Li, Leung and Swidan while they were en route back home. “I told them how glad I was that they were in good health and that they’ll soon be reunited with their loved ones,” Blinken said via his X account. While the State Department didn’t reveal more details about the deal, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed that three Chinese citizens had also been returned.
Mark Swidan, of Houston, Texas, Kai Li, of Long Island, New York, and John Leung, a permanent resident of Hong Kong, have been reunited with their families for the first time in years in time for Thanksgiving, Nov. 28 this year, ABC News reported.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke to Li, Leung and Swidan while they were en route back home. “I told them how glad I was that they were in good health and that they’ll soon be reunited with their loved ones,” Blinken said via his X account. While the State Department didn’t reveal more details about the deal, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed that three Chinese citizens had also been returned.
China probes top military official for ‘serious violations’
The ruling Chinese Communist Party has placed Miao Hua, a high-ranking defense official, under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” a phrase often used to denote an internal party corruption probe.
“Miao Hua, member of the Central Military Commission and director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, is suspected of serious violations of discipline,” defense spokesperson Col. Wu Qian told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. “After research by the Party Central Committee, it has been decided to suspend Miao Hua from his duties pending investigation,” Wu said.
The announcement came a day after the Financial Times newspaper reported that Admiral Dong Jun, who was named as successor to Li Shangfu in December 2023 after Li was fired for corruption, was himself being investigated for graft.
“Miao Hua, member of the Central Military Commission and director of the Political Work Department of the Military Commission, is suspected of serious violations of discipline,” defense spokesperson Col. Wu Qian told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday. “After research by the Party Central Committee, it has been decided to suspend Miao Hua from his duties pending investigation,” Wu said.
The announcement came a day after the Financial Times newspaper reported that Admiral Dong Jun, who was named as successor to Li Shangfu in December 2023 after Li was fired for corruption, was himself being investigated for graft.
Abonner på:
Innlegg (Atom)