Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs.
Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
ZGBriefs | February 22, 2024
China’s VPN Usage Nearly Doubles Amid Internet Censorship (February 15, 2024, VOA) Last year, VPN usage in China nearly doubled, according to data from IT education news outlet Techopedia, this despite the country’s strict regime of internet controls of everything from overseas websites to online games. China’s “Great Firewall” is one of the world’s most comprehensive internet censorship regimes, preventing citizens from accessing websites like Instagram, Wikipedia and YouTube, as well most major news organizations including VOA.
ZGBriefs | February 15, 2024
The village basketball games that are a national obsession in China (February 13, 2024, NBC News) It’s game day in this remote village in southwestern China, and the atmosphere is electric. Before thousands of fans on an outdoor court tucked in the rugged hills of Guizhou province — and with millions more watching online — teams from across China are vying to become champions of the “CunBA,” a grassroots version of the National Basketball Association whose name is a play on the Chinese word “cun,” which means “village.”
ZGBriefs | February 8, 2024
From Descendants of the Dragon to Heirs of God (February 6, 2024, Christianity Today) (subscription required) Their culture tells them the dragon is transcendent. Their Bibles tell them it’s evil. How should Chinese Christians approach this year’s zodiac animal?
ZGBriefs | February 1, 2024
Telling China’s Story in Stockholm (January 27, 2024, China Media Project) Angered by what he saw as biased coverage in the Western media in 2008, a Chinese resident in Sweden launched a newspaper and website for the Chinese diaspora in Nordic countries. The outlet is now a megaphone for the external propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party.
ZGBriefs | January 25, 2024
They flocked to build China's cities. Now builders are aging with little retirement (January 18, 2024, NPR) Now, these workers are approaching retirement age, and China must deal with the costs of supporting an aging workforce. Although they built much of the country's infrastructure, migrant workers remain the most vulnerable in the country's fast-aging workforce.
ZGBriefs | January 18, 2024
China population decline accelerates as birthrate hits record low (January 17, 2024, The Guardian) The drop surpassed that recorded in 2022, of about 850,000 – the first time the recorded population had declined since the mass deaths of the Mao-era famines.
Book Club: Shanghai Faithful
Join Joann Pittman for an online discussion on Jennifer Lin’s book, Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family.
ZGBriefs | January 11, 2024
How China Became a Car Country (January 9, 2024, Sixth Tone) In 2022, Chinese bought more than 26 million light cars, nearly double the total of the United States. The country is even exporting aspects of its car culture abroad, thanks in part to a world-leading new-energy vehicle sector.
ZGBriefs | January 4, 2024
The living language of the Chinese people (December 28, 2023, Language Log) The following buzzwords from social media show that, when they get out from under the thumb / heel of the CCP, the Chinese people have a lot of lively spunk and clever wit.
ZGBriefs | December 28, 2023
Has China Reached Peak Spice? (December 22, 2023, Sixth Tone) Historically, outside of a few inland regions, Chinese food was mildly flavored, with more emphasis on highlighting an ingredient’s natural taste than overpowering it with the numbing spice of Sichuanese mala or its fierier Hunanese counterpart.