FEATURED ARTICLE
Tools, Not Solutions, for Chinas Church (July 31, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
A previous generation of Chinese Christians, cut off from all outside contact and separated from their leaders, was forced to rely upon the Lord alone as they sought the way forward. This seeking after God was an important part of their maturing process, and their testimonies bear witness to his faithfulness. While acknowledging that China and its church are at a much different place today, it is nevertheless worth considering whether outside intervention may unintentionally serve to short-circuit the process by which God seeks to mature the current generation of Chinese church leaders.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China confirms flight delays caused by military drills (July 25, 2014)
China's civil aviation authority has confirmed military exercises are behind widespread flight delays and cancellations this month, following days of rumours. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in a statement that "routine" military drills had impacted flights in the latter part of July, though it also cited weather and unspecified other reasons. Cities affected included Shanghai, Nanjing and Qingdao in the east, and Wuhan and Zhengzhou in central China, the statement said.
State media promoting Chinas leader Xi with intensity unseen since Mao era (July 25, 2014, Washington Post)
For decades, China has shunned the cult of personality, a result of the tumultuous years when Mao Zedong elevated his personal brand to mythic proportions. But state worship of leaders appears to be making a comeback, according to a new study by University of Hong Kong media researchers. They say Chinas state-controlled media have been promoting the image of President Xi Jinping with a frequency and intensity unseen since the Mao era.
China Adds East China Sea Drills to Military Exercises (July 27, 2014, Bloomberg)
China announced new military drills in the East China Sea, adding to exercises under way in other areas that may further disrupt domestic air travel and add to tensions with neighbors over territorial disputes in the region.
China says may have citizens fighting in Iraq (July 28, 2014, Reuters)
Muslim extremists from China's far western region of Xinjiang have gone to the Middle East for training and some may have crossed into Iraq to participate in the upsurge of violence there, China's special envoy for the Middle East said on Monday.
Chen Guangcheng Goes to Washington (July 29, 2014, The Diplomat)
Some of us are old enough to remember the wonderful 1939 Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring Jimmy Stewart. It was the improbable story of how a non-political do-gooder gets appointed to the United States Senate with the hope of reforming Americas political system. In a few days, Mr. Chen Guangcheng, the blind barefoot lawyer who arrived in New York from Beijing 26 months ago amid a blaze of publicity, will go to Washington in the hope of reforming not Americas political system but Chinas.
What happens in China, doesnt stay in China (July 29, 2014, East Asia Forum)
The experience that Chinese leaders gain in domestic politics has a big impact on how they view and handle international issues. Many China watchers and political analysts often overlook these domestic roots of Chinese foreign policy, particularly in Chinas push to reform the international financial system.
Xi Jinping's anticorruption in China drive snares a tiger (+video) (July 29, 2014, Christian Science Monitor)
Once seen as untouchable, Zhou Yongkang, a former Politburo security czar, is under investigation. Chinese President Xi's far-reaching anticorruption drive is targeting political opponents and sending an uncompromising message to Communist Party the rank and file.
Eel Hunters Son: The Personal Journey of Fallen Chinese Political Giant Zhou Yongkang (July 29, 2014, China Real Time)
Born to an eel hunter in eastern China, Zhou Yongkang rose through Chinas Communist Party to handle some of its most serious business, including signing some of the countrys first deals with oil giants like Exxon Corp., ensuring security for the Beijing Olympics and leading national policy on its version of a board of directors. Now, the party has signaled the withdrawal of its four decades of trust in Mr. Zhou.
No ordinary Zhou (July 30, 2014, The Economist)
Mr Zhou was once one of the most feared and powerful men in the land. Until two years ago he was a member of the Politburos ruling standing committee; in charge of the states vast security apparatus, he controlled a budget bigger than the one publicly declared by the army. It has long been an unwritten rule of Chinas power politics that men of Mr Zhous stature were inviolable. In flouting the rule, Mr Xi has left no doubt about the authority he believes he now wields: he appears to be the most powerful Chinese leader since the late Deng Xiaoping.
Xinjiang: Tight security after deadly violence (July 30, 2014, BBC)
China has stepped up security in parts of Xinjiang following the region's worst outbreak of violence for months. Several people in Yarkant county and Kashgar told the BBC the streets were full of checkpoints and police patrols. They also reported internet and social media services were cut. Separately, a leading Uighur scholar has been formally charged with separatism. Dozens were killed or injured in the violence on Monday, state media say. Many of the dead were shot by police.
After Deadly Clash, China and Uighurs Disagree on Events That Led to Violence (July 30, 2014, The New York Times)
The official news agency Xinhua described the confrontation, in the Xinjiang region, as a violent terrorist attack that was organized, premeditated and carefully planned. But Uighur exile groups, citing sources in the region, said that the police had used excessive force on a crowd of protesters outside government offices in Yarkand County and that rioting had later broken out across several rural townships.
China charges Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti with separatism (July 30, 2014, The Guardian)
China has indicted the outspoken Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti on charges of separatism, prosecutors have announced. Tohti, who has been detained since January, was not informed of the latest move directly, according to his lawyer, who accused authorities of "shocking" handling of the case and ignoring Tohti's rights to a defence. Supporters of the economics professor say he has not advocated independence for the north-western region of Xinjiang and that the case against him is retaliation for criticising government policies and questioning official accounts of violence in or related to the region.
Zhou Is Butt of Online Jokes as China Allows Mirth Over His Fate (July 31, 2014, Bloomberg)
The mere fact that WeChats almost 400 million users can access the game reflects how discussion of Zhous fate is no longer taboo, and may even be encouraged, as the Communist Party builds support for a case against him. The game highlights the shifting censorship landscape in China where leaders and sensitive topics may be off limits to ridicule for yearsuntil theyre not.
RELIGION
Faith and Generosity: Will the Church in China Make the Connection? (July, 2014, ChinaSource)
On a recent trip to Shanghai I asked three house church pastors what was the biggest challenge faced by their congregations? Without hesitation the first pastor replied, "materialism." The others quickly agreed. They went on to acknowledge that there were few resources and little training available to help Chinese pastors understand and teach the basics of biblical stewardship.
Chinas Christian Education Today (July 21, 2014, ChinaSource Quarterly)
In today's China, Christian education is booming. This article looks at the emergence of this movement, the involvement of Christian churches, parents' perspective of it and their role in it. An overview of the current situation includes home schooling, legal aspects and the influence of a market economy upon it.
In Scarred Chinese Tibetan City, Devotion to Sanctity of Life (July 25, 2014, The New York Times)
Buddhists are encouraged to demonstrate a reverence for all sentient beings; some believers spurn meat while others buy animals destined for slaughter and then set them free. Here in Yushu, a largely Tibetan city where more than 3,000 people died in an earthquake four years ago, the faithful have been flocking to the Batang River to rescue a minuscule aquatic crustacean that would hardly seem deserving of such attention.
Video: What are Your Observations About the Chinese Church? (Conversations w/ Stephen Um Part 5) (July 28, 2014, China PartnershipP
China Removes Crosses From Two More Churches in Crackdown (July 28, 2014, The New York Times)
On Monday, public security officials in the city of Wenzhou used a crane and blowtorch to cut loose the red, 10-foot crucifix that had adorned the Longgang Township Gratitude Church, witnesses said. Unlike in previous confrontations between the police and parishioners that have unfolded in recent months, the congregants did not offer resistance.
Chinas Persecution of Christians May Make Them Stronger (July 28, 2014, American Interest)
In fact, Mao may have done Christianity in China the greatest possible favor. By cutting it off from foreign mission support and funding, and by removing all material incentive for joining the church, he in effect created an authentic, naturalized faith that is legitimately Chinese. Todays milder persecution, by underlining the degree to which Christians are not part of the corrupt Chinese elite, will further enhance the legitimacy of the church.
China and the Church: The Perennial Questions (July 29, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
"How many Christians in China?" "Are believers still persecuted?" Despite an exponential increase in the availability of information on Chinaincluding the church in Chinain recent years, questions like these are still common whenever the conversation turns to Christianity in China.Last year I spent some time with Dr. Marv Newell, Vice President of MissioNexus, discussing these and other oft-asked questions about China. The result was a webinar, The Church and Missions in China, which can be purchased on the MissioNexus website
Commentary: Chinas grim religious freedom problem (July 29, 2014, Washington Post)
Chinas leaders undoubtedly believe as did their predecessors that repression and fear will solidify their control and bring security. They are mistaken. By denying the bedrock freedoms of conscience and religion, China risks more restiveness and instability. If China is to assume a truly honored place among the community of nations, its leaders must reject the dark ways of repression and embrace the light of liberty for all.
Joining 40,000 Muslims Breaking Ramadan in Kashgar (July 29, 2014, Far West China)
My alarm went off at 5:30am local time this morning and the sky was already filled with the soft light of dawn. This is only my 3rd day here in Kashgar, a lively town on the western edge of Xinjiang, and although the intense heat has consistently drained me of energy I was surprisingly excited to jump out of bed. I was excited because I was preparing to witness one of my favorite events here in Xinjiang – the breaking of Ramadan fast at Kashgar's Id Kah Mosque.
Imam of China's largest mosque killed in Xinjiang (July 31, 2014, BBC)
The imam of China's largest mosque – in the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang – has been killed in what appears to be a targeted assassination. Jume Tahir, 74, was reportedly stabbed after he led early morning prayers at the Id Kah mosque on Wednesday. His killing came two days after dozens of people were reportedly killed or injured in clashes with police in Yarkant county, in the same prefecture. The reasons for his death remain unclear.
SOCIETY / LIFE
In Beijings Hutong Neighborhoods, Cat Cafs Prove Contagious (July 25, 2014, China Real Time)
The cat caf craze is firmly entrenched in Beijing, and Mr. Yuanwho last year opened a caf peopled with dozens of cats in a quiet hutong neighborhoodis among its most passionate adherents. His caf sells merchandise decorated with the various faces of his cats, which are legion: In addition to the 30 that alternately doze and pace yowling inside his caf, he keeps another 40-50 in a separate hutong residence rented exclusively for that purpose.
Talking to Chinas Web Junkies (July 28, 2014, The New Yorker)
China has already classified Internet addiction as a clinical disorder, which it considers a leading threat to the health of its young people. One reason is political: wary of the organizing potential of the Internet, the government was early to adopt a medical imprimatur that could be invoked for efforts to control usage of the Web.
Photos: Scenes From 21st-Century China (July 29, 2014, The Atlantic)
The People's Republic of China, the most populous country, and the second-largest economy, in the world, is a vast, dynamic nation that continues to grow and evolve. In this, the latest entry in a semi-regular series on China, a homemade 3-ton tank, a man inflating tires with his nose, a massive teapot-shaped building, nearsightedness-prevention devices, a replica Sphinx, and much more. This collection offers only a small view of people and places across the country over the past few months.
China promises to remove urban-rural registration divide (July 30, 2014, AFP)
China is to scrap the distinction between its urban and rural household registration systems, it said, promising migrant workers greater social benefits as it pushes an urbanisation drive that has seen hundreds of millions of people move to cities. The country will implement a single household registrationor "hukou"system, said the State Council, or cabinet.
My Little Apple viral dance vide becomes military recruitment tool (July 30, 2014, Nanfang Insider)
In case you havent heard the song or seen the video yet (and you probably have), My Little Apple is a music video from the film Old Boys: The Ferocious Dragon Crosses the River by the Chopstick Brothers that has gone viral in China. [] We saw a huge outpouring of spoof videos during the last dance phenomenon to hit China, Gangnam Style, and it looks like everyone wants in on this latest Chinese internet meme, up to and including the Ministry of Defense. While the Ministry features enlisted service personnel dancing in its video, it also features things the other videos dont: namely military jets and rockets.
Whats Wrong With This Town? (July 31, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
They worked under cover of night in early June, dumping truckloads of dirt on the new highway and planting fast-growing soybean seeds in the thin soil. Then they erected a sign alerting passersby to the freshly sown crop. This wasnt some ecological initiative like urban roof gardens or solar street lamps; it was an attempt literally to cover up a sprawling highway construction project. Officials in Sihong, a county of about one million people in Chinas wealthy, coastal Jiangsu province, had built the network of blacktop without a needed green light from provincial land management authorities.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Studying in America: Challenges, Differences and Outcomes (July 21, 2014, ChinaSource Quarterly)
The author talks about his experiences as an international student from China who came to the U.S. to study in high school. He tells us of the challenges he faced and the sacrifices his parents made. He points out major differences between the two cultures and shares with us how the experience has changed him.
Ministering to Chinese International High Schoolers in the U.S.: Guarding Their Souls (July 21, 2014, ChinaSource Quarterly)
When teens move to a new country, going from east to west and from the familiar to the unfamiliar, they face tremendous pressures in addition to the challenges of their young lives. Who will care for and guide them during the days of transition? Chen examines how schools, host parents, churches and Christian organizations can ease the pressures, make the transition easier and introduce them to the gospel.
38 Years Ago Today: The Tangshan Earthquake Kills 242,000, and Why Beijing Could Tremble Again (July 28, 2014, The Beijinger)
In the small hours of July 28, 1976, the second-deadliest earthquake in recorded history shook Beijingers out of their beds, as what is now known as the Tangshan Earthquake killed 242,000, its epicenter only 140 kilometers from Beijing. The earthquake, which registered 7.8 on the Richter Scale, left many Beijingers living in tents for two or three weeks, due in part to a 7.1 aftershock 16 hours following the initial event, and as building inspectors were required to verify the structural integrity of apartment and office buildings before habitation could resume.
Harvard Is New Summer Hot Spot as Chinese Students Crowd Boston (July 29, 2014, Bloomberg)Chinese students have a new favorite summer destination: Harvard University. So many students and their families are visiting Boston-area schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University that Hainan Airlines Co. started direct flights to Boston from Beijing in June and increased the number from four to seven a week in July and August. Tufts gets so many requests from large organized groups that it runs separate tours for them.
Life in a Private Chinese School (Part 1) (July 30, 2014, Discovering Chinese Life)
Though my mind has changed every so often, I have concluded that after teaching English in China for 3 years, one of the topics I would like to let the world know about is what Asian students go through while attending a private Chinese school.
Zhang Tiesheng: from leftist hero to China's latest multimillionaire (July 31, 2014, The Guardian)ven after three decades of rapid economic growth and capitalist frenzy, few stories encapsulate China's rush from Mao to the market as well as Zhang Tiesheng's. The leftist hero of the Cultural Revolution who protested as a student against "capitalist" exams has become a multimillionaire, Chinese media reported, after the company he co-founded went public.
HEALTH
In China, a single plague death means an entire city quarantined (July 25, 2014, The Guardian)
Tens of thousands of people were trapped in Yumen when officials swiftly locked down the city after a man died of plague, highlighting China's severe approach to the threat from disease.
Trail of Medical Missteps in a Peace Corps Death (July 25, 2014, The New York Times)Nick Castle had just graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, when he loaded up his backpack with Mandarin-language books and set off for rural China to teach in the Peace Corps. Seven months later, in January 2013, a 2 a.m. telephone call jolted his parents awake.Your son Nick is very ill, a Peace Corps official from Washington told them.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
China unemployment rate steady at 4.08 percent at end of second quarter (July 25, 2014, Reuters)
China's urban unemployment rate was 4.08 percent at the end of June, identical with the level in March, the labour ministry said on Friday. Li Zhong, spokesman of the Human Resources and Social Security Ministry, told a media conference China added 7.37 million jobs in the first half of this year, more than the 7.25 million a year earlier.
China approves three private banks (July 25, 2014, AFP)China has approved the setting up of three private banks, including one by Internet giant Tencent, the industry regulator said Friday, in a long-awaited economic reform aimed at bringing competition to state banking giants. Previously, China had just two privately-owned banks, Minsheng Bank and Ping An Bank, according to state media.
Where To Locate Your Business In China Or Asia (July 27, 2014, China Law Blog)
Generally find that some or all of the following factors are used to determine the right China city and sometimes also used to determine the right country, not in any order of importance:
Sharp falls in China's once-booming property market (July 27, 2014, BBC)
Property values have recently been falling fast in many Chinese cities, and some say that a property bubble could be bursting.
Big Mac or Big Mackerel? McDonalds in China Runs Low on Beef (July 28, 2014, China Real Time)
Big Mac lovers who go to McDonalds in China are asking one question today: Hey, wheres the beef? The fast food chains staple itemshamburgers and chicken nuggetsare displayed prominently on menus at outlets in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. But in the wake of concerns over food safety, those who attempt ordering them are asked to try out other options, instead.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
5 Chinese Search Engines You Need to Know About (July 23, 2014, East West Connect)
River In China Mysteriously Turns Bloody Red Overnight (July 25, 2014, ABC News)
A waterway in eastern China has mysteriously turned a blood red color. Residents in Zhejiang province said the river looked normal at 5 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday morning. Within an hour, the entire river turned crimson. Residents also said a strange smell wafted through the air.The really weird thing is that we have been able to catch fish because the water is normally so clear, one local villager commented on Chinas microblogging site Weibo.
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT/ SPORTS
China Quake Stories in Fallen City to Broadcast on PBS (July 28, 2014, China Real Time)
Three days after a magnitude-7.9 quake struck southwestern Chinas Sichuan province, Zhao Qi had made his way to the leveled city of Beichuan, wanting to help. Soldiers were carrying bags of corpses which were being disinfected. Of course you cannot really feel that human is human anymore. Its just flesh, he recalled by phone from Beijing this week. His directorial debut, Fallen City, which will have its national broadcast premiere on PBS POV documentary series Monday, opens with a leaf floating in the water, revealing itself to be a praying mantis climbing onto a rock with fragile legs. Bees hover in the air. A cat watches, a dog plays in the street, while another is seen climbing the rubble of Beichuan Middle School.
Ji Cheng Becomes First Chinese to Finish Tour de France (July 31, 2014, The Diplomat)
On Sunday, as the Tour de France rolled to its completion on Paris famed Champs Elysees, a solitary figure could be seen pedaling around Place de la Concorde even while all the others were done. Ji finally crossed the finish line some 9 minutes after his teammate Marcel Kittel rocketed to his fourth stage win in this years Tour.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
Beyond Badaling: An Overview of the Great Wall's Many Sections (August 9, 2011, Bamboo Compass)
However, unless the only reason you want to go to the Great Wall is to check it off your to do list, Badaling is a tourist trap that is best avoided. If youre pressed for time, Mutianyu is a decent compromise option; its only an hour and a halfs drive from downtown Beijing, but unlike at Badaling, it is possible to get away from the crowds if you keep walking beyond the restored section.However, a longer trip out to one of the other sections is well worth the time and effort. Read on for an overview of the sections organized by location and take a look at our Great Wall Google Map to see where they are.
Urumqi Walking Tour: The Real Xinjiang (July 25, 2014, Far West China)
Why not take a walking tour of the back alleys of Urumqi? Experience real life in the city instead of the tourist facade. If this interests you at all, then join me as I share with you one of my favorite spots to bring people who are first-time visitors to my home here in Urumqi.
LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE LEARNING
Learning simplified and traditional Chinese (January 29, 2012, Hacking Chinese)
In case youve just started learning Chinese, traditional Chinese refers to the characters used before the simplification reforms during the second half of the 20th century in Mainland China. This means that traditional characters are still being used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and in many overseas Chinese communities. Simplified characters are then, as the name implies, simplifications of the traditional characters.
The Beauty of Chinese Numbers (July 29, 2014, Sinosplice)
The beauty of Chinese numbers is that they are consistent. You learn the rules, and they just work. Even if you try to get flippant and say for 10 instead of just regular old , no ones going to get upset.
BOOKS
Photo Essay: Seeing Maos Little Red Book in a New Light (July 29, 2014, China Real Time)
In her new book Party, Ms. de Middel juxtaposes photos shot during two trips to the country in 2011 and 2013 against pages from the Little Red Book that are partially whited-out to create new phrases and fragments of thought.
ChinaSource Summer Reading (July 30, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
It is often said that summer is for reading. We at ChinaSource love to read all year long, but we thought you might be interested in what members of the ChinaSource team have in our book bags this summer.
ARTICLES FOR RESEARCHERS
Xi Jinping's Inner Circle: The Shaanxi Gang (July 30, 2014, Brookings)
Like successful politicians elsewhere, President Xi Jinping assumed Chinas top leadership role with the support of an inner circle. This group has been crucial to Xis efforts to consolidate power during his first year in office. Xis inner circle of confidants has smoothed the way for him to undertake a bold anti-corruption campaign, manage the Bo Xilai trial, and begin the process of crafting ambitious economic reforms. This series examines various power bases that make up Xis inner circleindividuals who serve as his hands, ears, mouth, and brain.
Is Chinas Charm Offensive Dead? (July 31, 2014, China Brief)
A series of seemingly unprovoked actions in the South and East China Sea has been described as an abandonment of the second charm offensive launched last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, China has continued to pursue economic and diplomatic cooperation with its Southeast Asian neighbors even as it contests territory with them at sea. Rather than choosing between two different approaches to periphery diplomacy, Xi is attempting to unite them in a single, proactive strategy that advances Chinese interests.
Zhous Fall About Institutions, Not Personalities (July 31, 2014, China Brief)
With the arrest of a major leader in a continuing, and massive, purge, and constant reminders that the stakes of the struggle against corruption are nothing less than the survival of the party, Xi and his colleagues have sought to generate a period of crisis in which major changes are possible. The question to remain is whether this political window is wide enoughand will stay open long enoughto allow systemic change to take root.
China Leadership Monitor (Summer Issue, 2014)
2000 Years of Christianity in Asia (OMF)
OPPORTUNITY
The International Schools of China has a few more positions to fill for the 2014-2015 school year. Do you teach Art, Early Childhood, Elementary, PE, music or are a curriculum specialist? If you are a certified teacher with a heart for international children, call us toll free at 866-436-0379866-436-0379 or go to www.LDiEducation.org, click on Apply Now and complete an interest form.
Image credit: Joann Pittman