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 1, 2021
China's CCP celebrates centennial by looking back – and ahead (June 30, 2021, Christian Science Monitor) Celebrating its 100th anniversary, China’s ruling party again uses a selective picture of history to justify its rule. The party’s goal – global Chinese leadership and prosperity for all its citizens – may also be its biggest challenge, scholars say.
ZGBriefs | June 24, 2021
Will I Return to China? (June 22, 2021, China File) We asked respondents how likely they were to travel to China once COVID restrictions were lifted. We provided five choices: “Definitely Will Visit,” “Probably Will Visit,” “Unsure,” “Probably Won’t Visit,” and “Definitely Won’t Visit” and asked them to choose one response and then to elaborate on their choice if they wished.
ZGBriefs | June 17, 2021
Covid outbreaks in Chinese ports could cause global goods shortages (June 16, 2021, The Guardian) An outbreak of Covid-19 in southern China has combined with the rapid reopening of the world economy and a shortage of shipping containers to cause a surge in transport costs that could fuel inflation and cause shortages of goods across the globe.
ZGBriefs | June 10, 2021
China is vaccinating a staggering 20 million people a day (June 9, 2021, Nature) For more than a week, an average of about 20 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 every day in China. At this rate, the nation would have fully vaccinated the entire UK population in little more than six days.
ZGBriefs | June 3, 2021
Faced with a demographic crisis, China relaxes birth limits (June 1, 2021, Christian Science Monitor) On May 31, China’s ruling Communist Party announced it will ease birth limits to allow all couples to have three children instead of two in hopes of maintaining its growth and avoiding the prospect of a declining population.
ZGBriefs | May 27, 2021
China's Mars Rover Touches Ground On Red Planet (May 22, 2021, NPR) China's first Mars rover has driven down from its landing platform and is now roaming the surface of the red planet, China's space administration said Saturday.
ZGBriefs | May 20, 2021
Head of Chinese Jesuits named new bishop of Hong Kong (May 17, 202, America Magazine) In a surprise move, after a search that lasted more than two years, Pope Francis has named the Jesuit Stephen Chow Sau-yan, 61, the provincial of the Chinese province of the Jesuits, as the ninth Catholic bishop of Hong Kong.
ZGBriefs | May 13, 2021
6 Stunning Statistics from China’s Population Census (May 10, 2021, Radii China) The results of China’s Seventh National Population Census have finally been released, triggering a wave of headlines and social media hot takes. There’s a lot of data to sift through, but here are six bits of info that made us sit up and take notice.
ZGBriefs | May 6, 2021
Will Easing of Student Visa Restrictions Rekindle China-US Exchanges? (May 5, 2021, The Diplomat) It’s a step in the right direction, but there are still substantial hurdles – both logistical and political – for Chinese students to come to the U.S.
ZGBriefs | April 29, 2021
US Relaxes Entry Restrictions on Students Traveling From China (April 28, 2021, Sixth Tone) Finally, Chinese people traveling to America for school won’t have to take a 14-day detour in a country not affected by the Trump administration’s travel bans.