ZGBriefs by 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 of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
ZGBriefs | July 21, 2022
What inflation? China’s peppercorn purveyors are feeling the heat (July 15, 2022, The New York Times) (subscription required) The Sichuan peppercorns are ripe here in southwestern China, with a spicy, minty fragrance emanating from the rows of scrubby trees.
ZGBriefs | July 14, 2022
China’s Top 10 Most Livable Cities, According to Chinese Youth (July 9, 2022, Radii China) Last week, China’s biggest lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu published a study revealing the factors that impact young Chinese people’s decisions on where to live in the country. Changsha, a city in Central China known for its underground scene, tops the list.
ZGBriefs | June 30, 2022
China cuts travel quarantine but retains zero-Covid approach (June 29, 2022, CNN) On Tuesday, the National Health Commission said incoming visitors need only spend seven days at a quarantine facility and three days at home.
ZGBriefs | June 23, 2022
20 Things We Learned from China’s 7th Census (June 17, 2022, Sixth Tone) There’s a lot to explore in this data, but here’s some of the first things we noticed, from an improving sex ratio to the tiny group of households who reported five generations sharing a single room.
ZGBriefs | June 16, 2022
China is encouraging college graduates to work in the countryside (June 13, 2022, CNN) China is urging college graduates to seek jobs in the countryside as youth unemployment in urban areas soars to the highest level in history.
ZGBriefs | June 9, 2022
Why the sparsely-populated South Pacific islands have become the next US-China contest (June 6, 2022, CNN) The island nations that stretch across the South Pacific – sparsely populated atolls and volcanic archipelagos, known more for tourism than lucrative natural resources – may not seem, at first glance, to be a major geopolitical prize. Yet, Pacific Island countries have become the latest arena for a great power contest between the United States and China.
ZGBriefs | June 2, 2022
"Runology:” How to "Run Away" from China (June 1, 2022, Council on Foreign Relations) China's forever lockdowns have caused some to look for a radical solution: to emigrate, or run away from what they see as a lost future in China.
ZGBriefs | May 26, 2022
Video: From Matteo Ricci to Pope Francis: Jesuits and Christian Dialogue in China (May 16, US-China Catholic Association) In his reflections, Dr. Anthony Clark examined how Jesuits have maintained Christian dialogue with China from 1582 until the present. As representatives of this uniquely Jesuit approach, Matteo Ricci and Pope Francis frame that exchange.
ZGBriefs | May 19, 2022
Here’s What Thousands of Christian WeChat Accounts Reveal About Chinese Internet Evangelism (May 13, 2022, Christianity Today) WeChat is a powerful digital media outlet with more than 1.2 billion users worldwide and tens of millions of “public accounts.” Over the past decade, WeChat accounts have been an important platform for Chinese Christians to speak about their faith and communicate the gospel.
ZGBriefs | May 12, 2022
A Teacher in China Learns the Limits of Free Expression (May 9, 2022, The New Yorker) How had the country experienced so much social, economic, and educational change while its politics remained stagnant?