Resources from 2015
The Resource Library is where you will find the latest resources from across our publications.
Responses to the Cruise Ship Sinking
On June 1, a cruise ship on the Yangtze River sank during a violent storm, killing more than 400 passengers. Because the ship sank so fast, there were only eight survivors, including the captain. The government launched a massive rescue and salvage operation, eventually righting the ship and recovering the bodies of those who had died. As is the case in any country now, Chinese citizens went online to express their grief. Christians joined the conversation as well, using the incident to reflect on the meaning of life and death and the urgency of spreading the gospel. In this article, translated from Christian Times, the author offers three things for Christians to consider.
From the West Courtyard
We are pleased to announce a new name for the ChinaSource Blog: From the West Courtyard.
Americans Drive on the Left and Other Truths I’ve Learned
Years ago, I was having a conversation with my Malaysian friend, and we started talking about how Malaysia has a lot of British influence. “We drive on the right like they do,” my friend explained.
“Wait, what?” I thought I had heard her wrong, or that she had misspoken. “You mean you drive on the left like they do.”
Increasing Awareness and Understanding
Four ChinaSource Publications
This past month, there have been two stories of particular interest and relevance to Christians in China and to foreigners who serve there. One was the announcement by the authorities in Zhejiang Province of a draft regulation limiting the size of church buildings and the size and placement of crosses on churches. The second was the central government's publication of a draft Foreign NGO Management Law, which would govern how foreign NGOs can operate in China. If enacted as proposed, each of these could have far-reaching consequences to both the local and foreign Christian communities in China.
ZGBriefs | June 18, 2015
Does Xi Jinping Represent a Return to the Mao Era? (June 16, 2015, China File)
Following is an edited transcript of a live event hosted at Asia Society New York on May 21, 2015, “ChinaFile Presents: Does Xi Jinping Represent a Return to the Politics of the Mao Era?” The evening convened the scholars Roderick MacFarquhar and Andrew Walder—the publication of whose new book on Mao Zedong was the occasion for the event—with diplomat Susan Shirk and Orville Schell, ChinaFile’s publisher and the Arthur Ross Director for the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society.
Understanding the Chinese Worldview
An Urgent Issue for Western Christians
An opportunity to learn about the Chinese worldview through study in Beijing and Xi'an.
Nanjing Church Serves “Gaokao” Parents
A church finds a way to minister to families facing the stress of the gaokao, the Chinese national university entrance examination.
Crossing the Lines in Wenzhou
The latest episode in the government’s attack on Christian churches in Wenzhou is the drafting of regulations outlining precise limits on the size and location of religious buildings and the size and placement of crosses.
ZGBriefs | June 11, 2015
Mao As Church Father (June 1, 2015, First Things)
In a brief review of recent Asian Church history (From Every Tribe and Nation), Mark Noll makes the arresting comment that “Mao Zedong counts as one of the most significant figures in modern church history.” Noll hastens to add this was not Mao's intention; rather, it is “because of what happened inadvertently through his actions.”