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 | December 3, 2020
China to tap elderly population in bid to tackle looming demographic crisis, boost economy (November 29, 2020, South China Morning Post) China wants to see more seniors contributing to its US$13 trillion dollar economy, as the world’s most populous country braces for the effects of a rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce after more than three decades of the one-child policy.
ZGBriefs | November 19, 2020
Catholic Mass in Shanghai in the Time of COVID (2020) (November 17, 2020, Sinosplice) English Church services for foreigners have still not been allowed to resume, even though church services in Chinese resumed months ago. (I assume it’s the same for Catholics as for other Christians, but I’ll correct this if I’m wrong.) […] Anyway, I took some photos last Sunday at the Xujiahui cathedral, St. Ignatius.
ZGBriefs | November 12, 2020
China’s Two-Child Policy, Five Years On (Sixth Tone) In this series, Sixth Tone speaks with families, family-planning officials, and policymakers to provide fresh insights into how the two-child policy has affected society, how the restrictions are enforced, and what the government might do to fix the existing challenges.
ZGBriefs | November 5, 2020
China Tightens Entry Requirements by Adding Second COVID-19 Test (November 3, 2020, Sixth Tone) International travel to the Chinese mainland has slowly resumed after a ban on most foreign nationals was imposed in March. Now, strict testing and quarantine measures are helping curb the risk of imported COVID-19 cases but also creating headaches for would-be returnees.
ZGBriefs | October 29, 2020
The Virginian Roots of Yunnan’s Tobacco Industry (October 27, 2020, Sixth Tone) Seven decades ago, American cigarettes were a form of social as well as economic currency in China. Now locals are more likely to be offering than taking.
ZGBriefs | October 22, 2020
Everlasting Splendor (October 17, 2020, The World of Chinese) This year, the palace is celebrating its 600th birthday with a new exhibition “Everlasting Splendor: Six Centuries at the Forbidden City,” which runs from September 10 to November 15.
ZGBriefs | October 15, 2020
Chinese Christians Deserve a Better Label Than ‘Persecuted’ (October 9, 2020, Christianity Today) We need the Chinese church to be defined not by its limitations or what it does, but by how it is being made into the image of Christ.
ZGBriefs | October 8, 2020
Chinese families shun Western universities as coronavirus, strained ties are ‘scaring middle-class families’ (October 3, 2020, South China Morning Post) About 81 per cent of affluent Chinese families whose children study foreign curriculums and take foreign examinations have decided to postpone plans to send them abroad for undergraduate or graduate studies
ZGBriefs | October 1, 2020
Chinese Citizens Are Already Receiving a Coronavirus Vaccine (September 29, 2020, The New Yorker) These days, when I talk to people in the Chinese pharmaceutical and medical industries, I always ask, “Have you been vaccinated?”
ZGBriefs | September 24, 2020
China to allow foreigners with valid residence permits to enter from Sept 28 (September 23, 2020, Reuters) China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday foreigners with valid residence permits can enter the country without needing to re-apply for visas from Sept. 28. Foreigners whose residence permits expired after March 28 can apply for visas at Chinese embassies and consulates for entry, the ministry said in a statement on its website.