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 21, 2023
The Chinese Migrants of Chiang Mai (December 14, 2023, The Dial) People who have left China — to make a new life or to escape an old one — are everywhere.
ZGBriefs | December 14, 2023
Podcast: Full time children or half dead: China’s Gen Z goes to ground (December 13, 2023, Little Red Podcast) The Party frets that despite the best efforts of the propaganda organs to get them excited about a tech-driven utopian future, China’s young people seem to have lost their work ethic.
ZGBriefs | December 7, 2023
How people in Hong Kong view mainland China and their own identity (December 5, 2023, Pew Research) With local elections in Hong Kong approaching, here’s a look at how people in the special administrative region view mainland China, as well as their own identity and the way things are going in their city. All findings are drawn from a recent Pew Research Center survey.
ZGBriefs | November 30, 2023
5 visa-free ways to travel to China by land, sea and air for 72 hours and up to 30 days (November 21, 2023, South China Morning Post) In October and November, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Immigration Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that travellers from dozens of countries can again enter China through several visa-free schemes.
ZGBriefs | November 16, 2023
The Fishing Village That Wasn’t and Other Myths About China’s Largest City (November 14, 2023, Sixth Tone) Shanghai’s opening as a treaty port has become shrouded in myth. What actually happened? And how did it shape the city?
ZGBriefs | November 9, 2023
A Chinese Jew’s Journey to Israel (November 2, 2023, The World of Chinese) From Kaifeng to Jerusalem—a Chinese Jew tells her story of leaving for the Middle East and reflecting on her dual identity.
ZGBriefs | November 2, 2023
Podcast: Rethinking Chinese food with Fuchsia Dunlop (October 30, 2023, Chinese Whispers) China has so much more to offer than what has made across into the West’s Chinese restaurants. Thankfully, that’s changing and quite fast. […] I’m delighted to be joined by her on the podcast today, to mark the publication of her new book, Invitation to a Banquet, which is all about the history, meaning and diversity of Chinese cuisine.
ZGBriefs | October 26, 2023
Are foreign students who study in China still able to form meaningful relationships with their Chinese counterparts, despite a tightening on educational channels? Are these students able to freely pursue their chosen areas of research? Are they experiencing a version of the country that best represents it? And how can China shape a more stable environment for international students and encourage greater student exchange, beyond that of senior scholars?
ZGBriefs | October 19, 2023
Confessions from a Chinese censorship worker (October 16, 2023, Global Voices) A censorship worker dubbed Blowfish Princess (河豚公主) from a major Chinese social media platform has recently revealed details of her everyday work in an interview with prominent Twitter whistle-blower Teacher Li on YouTube. Below is an English excerpt of the interview published on Global Voices with Teacher Li’s permission.
ZGBriefs | October 12, 2023
Creating a Digital Atlas of Buddhism in Hangzhou China. Using the Regional Religious Framework, by Philip Stoker. Mapping Temple Amalgamation with Historical GIS: A Spatial Interpretation of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s Institutional Reform, by Jeffery Wei Liu. Measuring the Prestige Index in a Regional Religious System, by Jiang Wu.