ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | June 30, 2022

ZGBriefs is a compilation of links to news items from published online sources. Clicking a link will direct you to a website other than ChinaSource. ChinaSource is not responsible for the content or other features on that site. An article’s inclusion in ZGBriefs does not equal endorsement by ChinaSource. Please go here to support ZGBriefs.


Featured Article

China cuts travel quarantine but retains zero-Covid approach (June 29, 2022, CNN)
The nation has some of the world’s strictest entry requirements, mandating most inbound travelers to spend at least 14 days at a government quarantine facility followed by seven days of isolation at home. On Tuesday, the National Health Commission said incoming visitors need only spend seven days at a quarantine facility and three days at home.

Sponsored Link

Online Book Club (ERRChina)
We currently have three book club facilitators to run three Zoom sessions in different time zones: (1) Joann Pittman (of ChinaSource) now meeting at 8pm Central time (next meeting July 20 discussing chapters 11-20 of Wild Swans; catch up and join in!) ; (2) Louise Jansen (ERRC Canada) Eastern Time zone starting at the end of summer; (3) Joe Lorencz (of COM) setting up now for Pacific Time Zone. Please sign up and we’ll send you a Zoom link.

If you or your company/organization would like to sponsor a link in ZGBriefs, please contact info@chinasource.org for more information.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Video: Hong Kong Handover at 25: Language, Politics, and Identity (National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations held an event on June 20, 2022 with panelists Kris Cheng, Pierre Landry, and Gina Tam discussing the past, present, and future of Hong Kong.

Close Xi Jinping ally appointed as China’s new public security chief (July 24, 2022, South China Morning Post)
Wang Xiaohong, 64, was promoted to minister of public security to oversee policing, replacing the more seasoned Zhao Kezhi, the 68-year-old who has been acting minister and is expected to retire in March. A rising star in the ranks of China’s political and legal system, Wang is expected to further Xi’s national security vision and anti-corruption drive in the law enforcement apparatus.

‘An Invisible Cage’: How China Is Policing the Future (June 25, 2022, The New York Times) (subscription required)
The latest generation of technology digs through the vast amounts of data collected on their daily activities to find patterns and aberrations, promising to predict crimes or protests before they happen. They target potential troublemakers in the eyes of the Chinese government — not only those with a criminal past but also vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities, migrant workers and those with a history of mental illness.

25 Years of China’s Slow Takeover of Hong Kong in Pictures (June 29, 2022, The Washington Post)

China throws media shield around Xi’s visit to Hong Kong (June 29, 2022, CNN)
According to the Hong Kong Journalist Association (HKJA), at least 10 journalists working for local and international organizations had their applications to cover the events rejected for “security reasons.”

U.S. accuses five firms in China of supporting Russia’s military (June 29, 2022, Reuters)
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration added five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base, flexing its muscle to enforce sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Eradicating China’s “Spiritual Americans” (June 29, 2022, China Media Project)
Speaking on Shanghai’s Oriental TV on June 20, on a program called China Now(这就是中国), Professor Zhang, the director of the China Institute (中国研究院院) at Fudan University, railed against what he called “spiritual Americans” (精神美国人), by which he meant Chinese, in particular intellectuals, who were dazzled by the West in the 1980s – and their standards, discourse and sense of culture therefore “infiltrated.”  

Religion

“Kiwis” in the Middle Kingdom: New Zealanders Serving God’s Mission in China from 1877 to 1953 and Beyond (June 13, 2022, ChinaSource Quarterly)
The icon of “kiwi” and the notion of “Middle Kingdom” form an interesting contrast. It is equivalent in saying “small birds in a big forest.” This is the picture of New Zealand missionaries in China.

Testimony of an Old Immigrant (June 13, 2022, ChinaSource Quarterly)
John Zhou went to one of China’s top universities, the China University of Geological Sciences in Wuhan. Despite his upbringing as a Muslim Hui, John was a practical atheist and a staunch Party member. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1996 and became a very successful landscaper. Local Chinese friends and colleagues witnessed to him, and in 2005 he made a commitment to Christ. 

Why Chinese Evangelization Starts with the Big Bang (June 28, 2022, Christianity Today)
Using science as a hook to share the gospel has long been a way for Chinese Christians in North America to share their faith to their non-believing friends. A significant number of the better-known Chinese evangelists have a scientific background and often speak at churches on the relationship between science and Christianity. Many churches believe science-related lectures and discussions draw seekers’ attention, a conviction that stems from a long history of Chinese intellectuals’ changing feelings about the relationship between science and Christian faith in the country.

Society / Life

Beijing’s Asterisk is Gone for Good (June 29, 2022, The Beijinger)
The system, which has been in place for two years, saw an asterisk used for any city containing an elevated risk area. The system was meant to be used by destination cities to screen travelers. In many cases this made it impossible for people to travel freely between cities without the need for quarantine (and in some cases, cities would even block travelers coming from cities with an asterisk outright).

Science / Technology

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander finds water on the moon, but not as much as they hoped (June 17, 2022, South China Morning Post)
Soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e 5 lunar lander have determined that much of the water on the surface of the moon likely comes from within the moon itself, not solar winds as previously hypothesised. The discovery comes from the first-ever water survey conducted on the surface of the moon and is an important step in China’s ambitions to build a moon base by 2027.

History / Culture

Social Network: How Shanghai Stemmed the Surge, 100 Years Ago (June 29, 2022, Sixth Tone)
From the 1910s to the 1930s, in Old Shanghai, the general population put tremendous efforts into disease prevention, with the foreign concessions even joining hands with the Chinese community on one occasion to bring a particularly deadly outbreak under control.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

China Requires Livestreamers Be Politically Correct and “Wholesome” (June 24, 2022, Radii China)
The guidelines emphasize that live streamers must uphold correct political values and social values, create and promote more “positive” stories, and maintain a “wholesome” taste. In addition, it advises hosts to self-regulate and avoid content that only focuses on generating online traffic, has morbid aesthetics, caters to fandom culture, or promotes money worship.

Living Cross-culturally

What’s the Point of Rest? (June 28, 2022, Global Trelllis)
It took burnout to help me listen to my body, to my heart, to God’s still quiet voice speaking (always speaking)…We moved overseas with idealism. I imagined myself in Southeast Asia forever…or at least a really long time. I had images of saving people, helping people…at least a few.

Books

Exploring New Zealand’s Rich Christian Heritage: Bible & Treaty: Missionaries Among the Māori—A New Perspective: A Book Review (June 13, 2022, ChinaSource Quarterly)
When I read Bible & Treaty, not long after it was first published, I could not put it down. Roughly covering the period of 1800–1864, it tells the story of how the gospel first came to the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand. Bible & Treaty is a book that can help all who have made New Zealand home, including the Chinese, be far more aware of this nation’s rich Christian heritage. Interestingly, it is a story that also resonates with the story of mission in China and elsewhere.

Links for Researchers

Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2021 Annual Report

Pray for China

July 4 (Pray for China: A Walk Through History)
On July 4, 1813, pioneer missionaries William Milne (米怜) and his wife Rachel Cowie Milne arrived in Macau after a 10-month voyage. China’s first Protestant pastor, Liang Fa (梁发牧师), came to Christ under Milne’s ministry and was baptized by him on Nov. 3, 1816. While working with Liang Fa, Milne published Two Friends, a tract that Prof. Daniel Bays described as “the most famous of all nineteenth century Christian tracts” in China. Bays estimates that as many as two million copies may have been distributed. Milne wrote that “Learning the Chinese language requires bodies of iron, lungs of brass, heads of oak, hands of spring steel, eyes of eagles, hearts of apostles, memories of angels, and lives of Methuselah.” Rachel died in 1819 and William in 1822 at age 37. Pray for Chinese and foreign Christians to partner effectively in reaching the world for Christ. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 2 Timothy 4:11

Share to Social Media
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Joann Pittman

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 …View Full Bio