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 | September 29, 2022
Some Americans’ views of China turned more negative after 2020, but others became more positive (September 28, 2022, Pew Research) When looking at individual Americans, roughly a quarter of U.S. adults (26%) became more negative toward China between 2020 and 2022. Around one-in-five (17%) became more positive toward it, while 53% did not change their views in one direction or the other, according to the analysis.
ZGBriefs | September 22, 2022
Temple excursions booming among Chinese youth (September 21, 2022, The China Project) According to government data, there are currently more than 33,000 Buddhist temples in China. An increasing number of them find themselves hosting urban youth who seek an escape from the rat race.
ZGBriefs | September 15, 2022
China Pays Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II (September 9, 2022, Sixth Tone) China’s top leaders and its people joined millions around the world to pay tribute to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after the death of the country’s longest-reigning monarch was announced Thursday. She was 96.
ZGBriefs | September 8, 2022
An Unusual Scottish Missionary: William Burns (August 25, 2022, Field Partner Blog) William Chalmers Burns (宾惠廉) lived from 1815-1868. A fellow missionary said after his death that “all China knows him; he is the holiest man alive”. Because of his itinerant ministry, he left an impression on thousands of people across wide stretches of China.
ZGBriefs | September 1, 2022
Filled with the Spirit amid the Hungry Ghosts (August 25, 2022, Christianity Today) This month serves as an important time for the church to reflect on its own convictions about spirits and the Holy Ghost himself.
ZGBriefs | August 25, 2022
China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk (August 24, 2022, The Guardian) Local authorities told to take measures and ‘use every unit of water carefully’ in effort to save autumn harvest.
ZGBriefs | August 18, 2022
5 Truths We Must Defend: Lessons from China (August 11, 2022, The Gospel Coalition) Although the experience of Christians in the U.S. is vastly different, we can learn from the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters in China.
ZGBriefs | August 11, 2022
The Major Questions About China’s Foreign NGO Law Are Now Settled (August 8, 2022, China File) Foreign NGOs still tend to focus on work congenial to Beijing and eschew “controversial” issue areas like media, human rights, or religious issues.
ZGBriefs | August 4, 2022
Confucius through Christian Eyes: Kenneth Scott Latourette and Charles E. Farhadian (August 2, 2022, Global China Center) Whether Confucianism is, or has ever been, a religion is a consideration that has been hotly debated for centuries, with evidence for and against its religious nature presented by those who answer either “Yes” or “No.”
ZGBriefs | July 28, 2022
China approves Genuine Biotech's HIV drug for COVID patients (July 25, 2022, Reuters) The availability of effective COVID vaccines and treatments is crucial in laying the groundwork for China's potential pivoting from its "dynamic COVID zero" policy, which aims to eliminate every outbreak - however small - and relies on mass testing and strict quarantining.