Resources from 2015
The Resource Library is where you will find the latest resources from across our publications.
One Step Closer to an NGO Law
As anyone who works in or deals with China on a regular basis knows, so much of life and work operates in a gray area – that space which can often be described as “neither legal nor illegal” since there are not yet laws governing the space or activity.
That has been the situation for numerous NGOs operating in China. Absent an actual law governing foreign NGOs in China, they've operated unofficially or with local blessing or registered as commercial enterprises.
Going Deeper
Serious Tools for Serious Study
Since returning to China after an absence of several years, one of the things that has most impressed me has been the increase in availability of high quality reference tools for serious Bible study in Chinese.
ZGBriefs | May 7, 2015
Draft Law: Foreign NGOs Can Open Offices with Approval (May 6, 2015, China Digital Times)
The Foreign NGO Management Law has undergone a second reading by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and will now be reviewed and revised before the third reading. The new draft contains a significant change from the first draft, which said that foreign NGOs were not permitted to open local offices in China under any circumstances. In the new reading, foreign NGOs can open offices but only with explicit permission from the State Council.
Does China’s Constitution Guarantee Freedom of Religion?
For the outside observer seeking to make sense of China’s religious policy, the Chinese Constitution presents quite a conundrum.
Baptism Questions
Most Three-Self churches in China conduct baptism services on Easter Sunday each year. In this translated article from the Gospel Times, the writer shares questions that the pastors at two large churches in China ask of each person being baptized.
Visas for “Short Term Tasks”
New visa regulations and how they might affect you on your next trip to China.
New Report Highlights Roots of Religious Persecution in China
According to China Aid Association’s latest annual report, religious persecution in China more than doubled last year. The increase comes as no surprise, as 2014 was marked by a wave of attacks on church buildings, particularly in the city of Wenzhou and around the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. The general social tightening that has come to characterize President Xi Jinping’s rule contributed to the pressure on religious believers, as did heightened tensions between the regime and ethnic minorities in Western China.
ZGBriefs | April 30, 2015
Viewpoint: Across China by wheelchair (April 26, 2015, BBC)
The good news - discovered whilst looking out of the window on the overnight train to Beijing - is that the vast majority of Chinese cities are flat as a pancake. When carrying a year's worth of backpacking supplies, I like to make a habit of avoiding steep hills wherever possible. As soon as we stepped off the train, however, the good news stopped flowing. Carrying out even the most basic of tasks in a wheelchair in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Shenzhen felt like I was competing in The Hunger Games.
Worship in China
Why Place Matters
The destruction of churches and widespread pulling down of crosses in Zhejiang province during the past year have served to highlight the dilemma facing China’s Christians, whose numerical growth has, for the past several decades, outstripped the availability of suitable venues for worship.
Defects in the Chinese Education System
In this “special report” in the Christian Times, a reporter talks with a Christian woman who runs a homeschooling academy in Guangzhou about her thoughts on the Chinese education system.