Brent Fulton
Brent Fulton is the founder of ChinaSource.
Dr. Fulton served as the first president of ChinaSource until 2019. Prior to his service with ChinaSource, he served from 1995 to 2000 as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College. From 1987 to 1995 he served as founding US director of China Ministries International, and from 1985 to 1986 as the English publications editor for the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong.
Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College.
An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. He is the author of China's Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden and co-authored China's Next Generation: New China, New Church, New World with Luis Bush.
Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, previously lived in Hong Kong from 2006 to 2017. They currently reside in northern California.
He is currently facilitating a network of member care professionals serving missionaries sent out from China. He also consults with other organizations on the impact of China's religious policy.
Faces of Christian Leadership in China
The 2006 China Church Leadership Study, conducted jointly by ChinaSource and Geneva Global Research, identified seven types of Christian leaders in China. While three of these are in traditional church roles at various levels, the other four function largely outside the bounds of the local church and represent the growing role of Christians in China's larger society.
China’s Urbanization: Three Things You Should Know
Urbanization has irreversibly changed the landscape of Chinademographically, socially, geographically, and economically.
How to Succeed at Philanthropy in China
In our previous post, "How to Fail at Philanthropy in China," we shared some insights from Clare Pearson in Beijing, based on her experience with corporate donors in China. Clare presented these last month at Philanthropy and China: A Time of Promise, a conference sponsored by the International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy.
How to Fail at Philanthropy in China
At a recent conference on China hosted by the International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy, Clare Pearson of Charitarian Magazine in Beijing offered some helpful tips.
A Generation of One
Why China's most privileged youth generation ever is still looking for more.
Where is China Going?
Statistics released by Beijing think tank in January reveal that emigration from China is at its highest level ever, with 9.34 million leaving the Mainland in 2013. China is the world's fourth largest country for emigration, coming behind, India, Mexico, and Russia.
Can the Chinese Church Say No?
The people of China have a history of being ambivalent toward knowledge and technology imported from the West. The ti-yong debates of the late-19th and early- 20th centuries highlighted their desire to enjoy the practical benefits (yong) of Western learning while maintaining the essence (ti) of Chinese culture. The rush toward Westernization that seemed to characterize the 1980s was subsequently replaced by the "China Can Say No" spirit of the 1990s. With China's rise in this century there is a new confidence in China's ability to chart its own unique course.
What Triggers Persecution of Christians in China?
According to China Aid Association's 2013 Persecution Report, a total of 7,424 Christians were persecuted in China last year. This is not an insignificant number; 7,424 believers facing persecution is 7,424 too many. However, it is worth looking at this number a bit closer in order to put it into perspective.
China’s Next War?
In his work report at last month's annual meeting of the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang, citing the growing toll which China's environmental crisis is taking on the economy, pledged to "declare war" on pollution.
Looking Ahead: Which China?
China today has been variously described as an emerging superpower, an economic miracle, a totalitarian regime, a corrupt kleptocracy, a regional hegemon, a bellwether of the future, and a victim of its past. Each of these narratives contains a kernel of truth, yet none by itself begins to do justice to the complexities of China.