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FEATURED ARTICLE
A Pastors Reflections on the Asian Church Leaders Forum (December 2, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
In June of this year, church leaders from all over Asia gathered in Seoul, South Korea for the Asian Church Leaders Forum. In attendance were many Chinese pastors who had been denied permission by the Chinese government to attend the 2010 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa. One of those, Pastor Ezra Jin of the Zion Church in Beijing, wrote an article for the November 2013 issue of the Lausanne Global Analysis, titled A Landmark Encounter: The Significance of the ACLF for the Church in China.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Chinese Netizens Applaud Beijings Aggressive New Defense Zone (November 24, 2013, Tea Leaf Nation)
But on Chinas Internet, where much of the countrys political expression finds its fullest voice, the reaction is far different: Web users hailed Chinas move against what they derisively call the abnormal nation of little Japan. And they want the United States to stay out of it.
Friends like these (November 25, 2013, Reuters)
How a famed Chinese dissident got caught up in Americas culture warsThe Chinese Communist Partys Biggest Obstacle Is the Chinese Communist Party (November 25, 2013, TIME)The party still believes that China can be increasingly innovative and competitive without the sort of political liberalization that many in the West would consider necessary to a modern economy. Based on the results so far 30 years of nonstop growth and industrial expansion it is easy to think Beijing might be right on this score. However, the more the Chinese economy advances, the more the needed reforms undercut the partys ability to control the nation. Here, then, we find the central challenge to the future of Chinas economy: Will the Communist Party be willing to implement reforms that force its own power to recede?
End of China's labour camps won't halt government abuse of power (November 25, 2013, South China Morning Post)
Chang Ping welcomes the abolition of re-education through labour, but says bypassing the NPC to end it on party orders alone just points to the pervasive problem of power abuse.
Chinas Limited Influence (November 27, 2013, The New York Times)
But although Chinas economic influence is growing it is now the lead trade partner for 124 countries, compared to just 76 for the United States its power to influence other nations is slight. It has achieved little of what policymakers call capture, a condition in which economic or security dependence of one country on another allows the more powerful to drive the others policy making.
US airlines warned to stay out of China's new air defense zone (+video) (November 30, 2013, Christian Science Monitor)
The US and Japan are defying China by sending sending military aircraft into China's new air defense zone over the East China Sea. But the US recommends commercial airlines comply with China's warning to stay out.
Xi Jinping: Chinese ruler who's a riddle to the world (November 30, 2013, The Guardian)
Since coming to power in March, he has introduced huge reforms yet clamped down on freedom of speech. So who, exactly, will David Cameron meet on his trip to Beijing this week.
The Hijacking of Chinese Patriotism (December 2, 2013, The New York Times)
The patriotic education promoted by the Communist Party over the last 64 years has managed to equate love of country with love of the party and the government. But when the distinction between country and ruler is erased, patriotism ends up being hijacked, and easily manipulated by a narrow-minded nationalism.
How Long Will China Tolerate America's Role in Asia? (December 2, 2013, Foreign Policy)
All good questions, but the future of Sino-American relations should be on everyone's list of Top 5 "Big Questions." And on that subject, the main issue is whether China will continue to tolerate America's extensive and powerful military presence in East Asia or whether it will conduct a sustained effort to drive a wedge between the United States and its current allies and eventually force the United States out of the region.
Chinese journalist Wang Qinglei denounces censorship (December 3, 2013, BBC)
A Chinese journalist, recently sacked from state-run China Central Television (CCTV), has denounced government censorship in a blog post. Wang Qinglei said that CCTV journalists receive up to 1,000 directives each year from propaganda officials. CCTV recently sacked Mr Wang for violating its social media regulations.
Chinese journalist Wang Qinglei denounces censorship (December 3, 2013, BBC)
A Chinese journalist, recently sacked from state-run China Central Television (CCTV), has denounced government censorship in a blog post. Wang Qinglei said that CCTV journalists receive up to 1,000 directives each year from propaganda officials. CCTV recently sacked Mr Wang for violating its social media regulations.
Liu Xia, wife of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, 'depressed' (December 3, 2013, BBC)
Concern is growing for the mental health of the wife of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo. Liu Xia has been under house arrest since her husband won the award in 2010. She has never been charged. Friends say she is depressed but fear that if she sees a doctor she might be sent to a psychiatric hospital. Mr. Liu was convicted of subversion in 2009. The Chinese authorities have never explained why they have restricted his wife's movements.
Biden in Beijing: Between the Moon and the East China Sea (December 4, 2013, The New Yorker)
More likely, these measures will have the added benefit of appeasing conservative hardliners and awakening fervent patriotism. China reaches for the moon and claims the air above the sea, but its leaders eyes are, most of all, directed homeward.
Biden Faults China on Foreign Press Crackdown (December 4, 2013, Sinosphere)
The Chinese government has held up renewing the visas of roughly two dozen correspondents from The Times and Bloomberg after each published investigative articles about the wealth of the families of top Chinese leaders. Without new visas, the reporters will be forced to leave China, as soon as within the next few weeks.
RELIGION
150th Anniversary of Beijings Gangwashi Church (November 26, 2013, Chinese Church Voices)
Beijing's oldest Protestant Church, Gangwashi Christian Church, recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding by missionaries from the London Missionary Society. This article, on the mainland site Gospel Times, reports on a special celebration service.
SOCIETY / LIFE
Urbanites Flee Chinas Smog for Blue Skies (November 22, 2013, The New York Times)
The urban refugees come from all walks of life businesspeople and artists, teachers and chefs though there is no reliable estimate of their numbers. They have staked out greener lives in small enclaves, from central Anhui Province to remote Tibet. Many are Chinese bobos, or bourgeois bohemians, and they say that besides escaping pollution and filth, they want to be unshackled from the material drives of the cities what Ms. Lin derided as a focus on what youre wearing, where youre eating, comparing yourself with others.
Why Chinese Cities Are Smaller Than They Appear (November 22, 2013, The Atlantic)
Focusing on total populationrather than the number of people actually residing in urban areasobscures the extent of China's urbanization challenge.
Nanjiecun: A village that still lives and works as Mao laid down (November 24, 2013, BBC)
Mao Zedong was a founding father of the People's Republic of China. He died in 1976, but his presence is still firmly felt in the small village of Nanjiecun, where one of the country's last Maoist communes shows no sign of giving up the ghost.
Chairman Mao impersonator: Chinese woman's double life in pictures (November 22, 2013, The Guardian)
Chen Yan is a female impersonator of China's late Chairman Mao. At 5' 1" (1.55m) tall, the 51-year-old housewife has to wear special shoes to increase her height to 5' 11" to match the late communist leader. Chen was discovered by a beautician while impersonating Mao on a local TV show and is believed to be the first woman to imitate the former Chinese leader
Quarter of Chinese women suffer domestic violence (November 26, 2013, Xinhua)
Nearly 25 percent of Chinese women have suffered domestic violence in their marriage, an official in charge of women's affairs said on Tuesday. The country's women's federations receive about 50,000 domestic violence cases each year, said Tan Lin, secretary of the secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), at a seminar jointly held by China and Australia.
Who are China's weibo super stars? (November 28, 2013, BBC)
Sina Weibo ranks its users by both popularity (number of followers) and online influence (level of activity, combined with the number of active followers and the number of times their posts are shared). The most influential users, who frequently make headlines in China, include entrepreneurs, property moguls, lawyers and authors. There is even one religious figure among Sina Weibo's top 10.
New hit show Where Are We Going, Dad? highlights the changing role of fathers in China (December 1, 2013, Offbeat China)
For those who are tired of Chinas endless talent and singing shows, Where Are We Going, Dad? provides a refreshing breeze. The show takes five celebrity dads and their young kids aged 3-6 to the countryside or the outdoors where each pair competes against one another in various tasks, without the presence or help of moms.
Hong Kong's Troubling Shortage of Men (December 2, 2013, The Atlantic)
Due to a growing gender imbalance, the territory's women have undergone drastic measuresfrom love coaches to liposuctionto meet a suitable partner.
Director Zhang Yimou Admits Violating Chinas One-Child Policy (December 2, 2013, China Real Time)
Chinese director Zhang Yimou took to Sina Weibo on Sunday to admit that he and his wife had violated the countrys one-child policy and would accept punishment for their actions. In a statement posted to the verified account of Mr. Zhangs office, the director said he and his wife, Chen Ting, apologized for their actions and would cooperate with the government.
China's youth has forgotten about politics, laments Cui Jian as he plays Clockenflap (December 2, 2013, South China Morning Post)
Indifference to society is what distinguishes today's young generation of Chinese from his own, Cui Jian, the musician whose song Nothing To My Name became the anthem of the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
Chinese traffic police dance and rap along to K-Pop track (December 3, 2013, Thats Online)
traffic police in Huizhou, Guangdong province have produced a video of them dancing (and rapping) to K-Poppers Crayon Pop's 'Bar Bar Bar'. The video, apparently officially sanctioned and funded, aims to raise awareness of traffic safety and the 122 phone number for traffic police. It includes a rap section about road safety, in Chinese, what more do you need?
Check out these amazing photos of Chinese families and all of their possessions (December 3, 2013, Shanghaiist)
For the last 10 years, Chinese photographer Huang Qingjun has been traveling around rural China and snapping pictures of families, their homes, and all of their possessions. The series is titled "Jiadang" or "Family Stuff," and the shots are utterly breathtaking.
Despite changes to one-child policy, Chinese parents say having two kids is too expensive (November 30, 2013, NBC)
Despite China announcing changes to its strict one-child policy, many young parents say they will not choose to have a second child due to the high cost of living in modern-day China. Giving birth to a second child is not difficult, but we do not have the energy anymore, said Wang Tao, a 35-year-old native of Beijing, who is married and has a 5-year-old daughter. We lack a safe social net to support a family with two children, Wang added. China doesn't provide a pension or free education, he said while ticking off a list of things that make having a larger family a financial burden.
Chinas One-Child Policy in my preschool English classroom (December 4, 2013, China Hope Live)
I have to teach one preschool class this Brothers and Sisters song. So I took a poll: Who has a brother or a sister? They were sort of confused by the question. Lots of hands went up. But their Chinese teacher and I both knew there was no way most of them had siblings.
Top 10 Shocking Facts About China (December 4, 2013, China Whisper)
China is a big country in terms of population, area, economy and many other aspects. No country can ignore this new global powerhouse nowadays. Here are 10 shocking facts about China, its economy and its people.
Suining County, Where What Goes Up Often Comes Down (December 4, 2013, Sinosphere)
Chinas space program is a subject of pride and excitement around the country. In Suining County, its cause for an added thrill, if an anxious one. Debris from rockets launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center often crashes down in that rural area of southern Hunan Province.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Xinjiang university students must have political views approved (November 26, 2013, The Guardian)
University students in Xinjiang will not graduate unless their political views are approved, a university official has said, as the country wages what school administrators called an ideological war against separatism. Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur ethnic group, many of whom resent controls imposed by Beijing and an inflow of Han Chinese migrants. Some Uighur groups are campaigning for an independent homeland.
Scandal at a top Chinese university: Admitting mistakes (November 27, 2013, Analects)
The website of Renmin University proudly shares the results of an official nationwide evaluation that recently ranked it among the top three universities in China. But it has had less to say about published allegations that the official in charge of its student admissions department was recently detained while trying to leave the country after being implicated in a massive embezzlement scandal.
Investigation reveals black market in China for research paper authoring (November 29, 2013, Phys.org)
Hvistendahl notes that such a black market has arisen in China due to the enormous pressure Chinese researchers are feeling to publish something. In that country, it appears having one's name attached to a research paper, matters more than actually conducting research. Hvistendahl also reports that people in China are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the "honor" of having their name printed as an author on a research paper.
Chinas Schools Teach Kids to Take Tests, Obey the State, and Not Much More (November 30, 2013, The Daily Beast)
China may have made huge strides recently, but its school system languishes as a relic that teaches children by rote and exists merely to make students willing tools of the state.
Five Words Google Cant Translate (December 2, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
As foreigners in China, the impetus is on us to learn the Chinese understandings of words. As we do, we can communicate more effectively and help them understand how we see or use a word. For those intersecting with the educational parts of China, here are five words I've found that have led to the misunderstandings between Chinese and Westerners.
China is Cheating the World Student Rankings System (December 3, TIME)
The OECDs Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams are held every three years. Coming first and third respectively in the 2012 exams are the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong. However, China is uniquely not listed as a country in the rankings unlike the U.S., Russia, Germany, Australia and other nations judged on the basis of their country-wide performances. Instead, China only shares Shanghais score with PISA. (Hong Kong, a Special Autonomous Region of China, sends its own data.)
The American Military in China and their Secret Weapon Bring on the Camels Lads!
This is a Qing dynasty era picture of an American army sergeant in Peking at some point around the time of the Boxer Rebellion. Hes looking after a team of camels used for hauling items for the military. There seems to be very little written about the US militarys use of camels in China and they seem not to have been part of the armys official Camel Corps which had pretty much died out by the Civil War (the American one, as opposed to any of the Chinese ones).
Emperor Qian Long's Letter to King George III, 1793 (Wellesley College)
I have already taken note of your respectful spirit of submission, have treated your mission with extreme favour and loaded it with gifts, besides issuing a mandate to you, O King, and honouring you with the bestowal of valuable presents. Thus has my indulgence been manifested.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
David Cameron urges British students to ditch French and learn Mandarin (December 4, 2013, The Guardian)
PM ends three-day visit to China by telling young people they should learn language that will 'seal tomorrow's business deals'.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
Photos: Chinas Deadly Pipeline Blasts (November 25, 2013, China Real Time)
Video: China launches its first moon mission (December 2, CNN)
China launched its first lunar probe early Monday, which, if all goes well, will make it only the third nationafter the United States and the Soviet Unionto soft-land on the moon. The launch of the unmanned probe took place at 1:30 a.m. Monday (12:30 p.m. ET Sunday), state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Chang'e-3 blasted off from a Long March 3B rocket in Sichuan province located in southwest China and is expected to land on the moon's surface in mid-December.
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
Writing about China and Eponymous Adjectives (November 27, 2013, LA Review of Books)
In the wake of new Chinese leader Xi Jinpings Third Plenum the first policy-focused general meeting hes presided over since being anointed a year ago the term Orwellian is once again getting a work-out. Its long been and remains a great favorite among China writers: the Great Firewall is Orwellian, censorship is Orwellian, the Chinese police are Orwellian, Beijings policy pronouncements are Orwellian Double Speak.
China's linguistic landscape is changing as rapidly as its cities and lifestyles (December 2, 2013, PRIs The World)
As it stands, Mandarin is the language of government, commerce and pop songs in China. But not everyone is excited about learning it.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
Documentary Beyond Beauty Captures Taiwan From Above (November 28, 2013, China Real Time)
In his 93-minute film, audiences are taken on a birds-eye journey by helicopter across Taiwans various landscapes, with background music by award-winning composer Ricky Ho.
Along the Tea Horse Road in Chinas Yunnan Province (November 29, 2013, China Real Time)
On the dashboard of our van, a solar-powered Tibetan prayer wheel spins continuously as we make our way through the bumpy roads linking Lijiang, Dali and Tengchong. After our fourth or fifth near-collision, I begin to stare at that miniature golden cylinder. Maybe a little Buddhist intervention will save us from crashing into a truck laden with giant boulders or plunging off the road into the canyons below.
Epic Journey to Xinjiang's Sayram Lake (December 4, 2013, Far West China)
Are you considering traveling to Sayram Lake sometime in the future? Then I think youre going to love this story by Robert Warnerford-Thomson. He spent time as a teacher here in Xinjiang and I thoroughly enjoyed his experience that youre going to read below.
BOOKS
The Armies of Warlord China 1911-1928 (November 30, 2013, China Rhyming)
Philip Jowetts The Armies of Warlord China should be worth a read great cover too.
Quotations of Chairman Mao Really a Best Seller? (December 2, 2013, ChinaSource Blog)
Last year a writer named James Chapman wrote a post for the website Squidoo listing the 10 most read books in the world (in the last 50 years). The Quotations from Chairman Mao was #2 on the list, behind the Bible. To be honest, the book's inclusion on the list should probably come with an asterisk. It is easy to become the second "most read" book in the history of the world when failure to own a copy or carry it at all times could lead to beatings or even imprisonment.
In Search of the Real China (November/December, Foreign Affairs)My First Trip to China: Scholars, Diplomats, and Journalists Reflect on Their First Encounters With China. Edited by Kin-Ming Liu. East Slope Publishing, 2012, 316 pp. $28.00. Reviewed by John Pomfret.
New Museums in China (Amazon)New Museums in China presents fifty-one of the most innovative museums of the last ten years in beautiful photographs, detailed drawings, and insightful texts based on interviews with an international slate of architects.
Image credit: by Procsillis Mocsas, via Flickr