Blog Entries on Church and State
Reading Tea Leaves from the 2021 National Religious Work Conference
What can we learn from the recent conference on religious work? A comparison with the 2018 conference helps tease out key points.
Raising the Walls of the Sandbox
As churches in China experience continued tightening, it’s worth considering the wider context of the measures and what their broader purpose is.
Half a Dozen Plenums
The Sixth Plenum just finished a four-day meeting. What might the resolution that came out of the meeting mean for the church in China?
Opportunities in the Light of Kingdom Identities
As a Christian in Hong Kong, I am not only interested in the economic aspects of consolidation with our neighboring city; I am also interested in cross-border and cross-cultural exchanges of spiritual life between the communities. While the government creates synergy through conjoining the strengths of the two cities, we should explore whether the interaction between the Christians of the two locations can give rise to new opportunities for kingdom ministries.
Getting Rid of the Grey
5 Years into the Overseas NGO Law
When I was in China, those of us working in the NGO space would often lament the lack of a comprehensive legal framework for Overseas NGOs to operate in China. In 2016, we got what we wanted—only it wasn’t really what we wanted.
The Party’s Party
A Reading Roundup
On July 1, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threw itself a big birthday bash to celebrate 100 years. In case you missed out on some of the coverage of the event, here is a roundup of some of the more interesting stories.
100 Years of God’s Protection and Guidance (Part 2)
Policies and Plans in Favor of Christianity
Christianity faces adversities in China. But God has used some of those unfavorable conditions to accelerate church growth. Thistles and thorns are not the only plants on the path of evangelism. We have simply ignored the little daisies growing along the way.
100 Years of God’s Protection and Guidance (Part 1)
Turning Adversities into Blessings
History has convinced me that God cares about China in his missional plan. This anniversary carries spiritual meaning when we see that the Chinese church has witnessed God’s protection and guidance over the past 100 years.
God, Caesar, and the Chinese Legal System
Western narratives about China and its church are built on a fundamental, but often unspoken, assumption about the relationship between law and society.
Religious Activities by Foreigners
Draft Regulations
What's in the draft regulations and what might they mean for foreign Christians living in China?