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 | May 4, 2023
Should you be frightened by China’s revision to the anti-espionage law? (May 2, 2023, The China Project) Last week, Beijing broadened the scope of its anti-espionage law. Some fear that it will create a more hostile environment for foreign individuals and organizations operating in China.
ZGBriefs | April 27, 2023
Video: Enjoying Jet Lag: Resuming In-Person Travel and U.S.-China Relations (April 17, 2023, Center for Strategic and International Studies, via YouTube) A discussion on the role of in-person travel and direct communication in increasing mutual understanding and stabilizing U.S.-China relations.
ZGBriefs | April 20, 2023
Young people in China struggle to find jobs as the country's youth unemployment rate rises (April 19, 2023, ABC News (Australia)) The national unemployment rate for 16-to-24-year-olds is now 19.5 per cent, nearly 3 per cent higher than in December.
ZGBriefs | April 13, 2023
Mayflower Church members arrive in U.S. after Thailand deportation scare (April 11, 2023, Radio Free Asia) Dozens of members of a persecuted Protestant church in China have arrived in the United States after escaping the country via Thailand, where they were also detained by the immigration authorities amid fears of repatriation. The Mayflower Church members touched down in Dallas on Good Friday after a coordinated effort from advocacy groups and politicians to bring them to the country.
ZGBriefs | April 6, 2023
Chinese Christians Adapt Under New Restrictions (March 30, 2023, The Gospel Coalition) The Gospel Coalition asked Chinese pastor, Reformed theologian, and church network leader Zhang San about increasing restrictions, ways he’s seen God at work, and what worries pastors even more than registration apps or closing churches.
ZGBriefs | March 30, 2023
Easter and the Tomb Sweeping Festival Share a Nerdy Connection (March 27, 2023, Christianity Today) (registration required) An order known for astronomy and mathematics, the Jesuits drove the reforms in both the Western world and China that dictate how we plan our days, months, and holidays.
ZGBriefs | March 23, 2023
Xi and Putin pledge to shape a new world order as the Chinese leader leaves Russia with no peace in sight for Ukraine (March 22, 2023, NBC News) As Xi departed he told Putin: “Now there are changes that haven’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes.”
ZGBriefs | March 16, 2023
China reopening borders to foreign tourists for first time since Covid erupted (March 14, 2023, BBC) From 15 March, foreign offices can process applications for Chinese visas. Visa-free entry will also resume in Hainan Island and Shanghai for cruise ships. Tour groups from Hong Kong and Macau will also regain their visa-free privilege. In addition, valid visas issued before China closed to the world on 28 March 2020 will be honoured again.
ZGBriefs | March 9, 2023
Xi Jinping Says He Wants to Spread China’s Wealth More Equitably. How Likely Is That to Actually Happen? (March 3, 2023, China File) After Xi began invoking “common prosperity” in 2021, a rash of new regulations and fines on private capital and technology companies suggested that rhetoric was translating quickly into action. But in the 18 months since, even as it continues to be invoked, common prosperity has seemed to play a much more minor role in policymaking.
ZGBriefs | March 2, 2023
Fragmenting network protocols – China and the end of the web as we know it (February 24, 2023, MERICS) China is rolling out a new internet protocol (IP) that threatens the fair and equal treatment of traffic on the internet, also known as net neutrality. IPv6+ is a routing system for internet data that allows senders to specify to the network provider the type of content in a data packet and the route it should take.