ZGBriefs | July 18, 2024

Featured Article

Young Chinese Seek Havens for a Better Restart (July 11, 2024, Global Times)
Often referred to as “retirement homes for the young,” these centers attract people seeking a slower pace of life, physical and mental relaxation, or a chance to rethink their life direction. Despite the name, they function more like a new social space combining leisure and social interaction, helping young people recharge, relieve stress, and prepare to better return to daily life or embark on a new journey.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

What to Expect From China’s Upcoming Third Plenum (July 14, 2024, East Asia Forum)
The Third Plenum of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China kicks off on 15 July 2024. Rather than grand liberalization, this Plenum will more likely announce strategies to tackle economic bottlenecks and improve productivity, innovation, economic growth, and living standards, continuing China’s tradition of pragmatic, gradual economic reforms.

Confrontations in South China Sea Surge, Raising Fears a Miscalculation Could Lead to Conflict (July 12, 2024, The Guardian)
Reports of aggressive and dangerous conduct by Chinese vessels in the fiercely contested South China Sea have surged over the past 17 months, as tensions mount in one of Asia’s biggest flashpoints. Vessels have been rammed, punctured with knives, damaged by water cannon, and targeted by military-grade lasers. Now the Philippines’ US ambassador has warned the aggression must be reduced to avoid conflict.

China Hits Back at Nato Over Russia Accusations (July 12, 2024, BBC News)
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has hit back at Nato’s “groundless accusations” that Beijing is helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.

He has also warned the Western alliance against stirring up confrontation.

Chinese Authorities, Social Media, and Commentators React to Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump (July 15, 2024, China Digital Times)
The official Chinese response has been cautiously muted. Chinese social media, on the other hand, has been ablaze with commentary. For most of the first 24 hours following the shooting, news of the attack led Weibo’s “hot topics” list. Discussion ranged between shock and concern, wild conspiracy theories, and awe at Trump’s luck.

Religion

Chinese Upbringing and US Culture (July 10, 2024, ChinaSource)
Because I grew up in China and because this environment is nearly completely non-Christian, I was accustomed to being in a room where most views opposed my own. As a Christian, my faith has never been defined by my surroundings. I am able to befriend people who hold completely different beliefs than mine, but I’m still strong in my own faith.

The Last Mile (July 12, 2024, ChinaSource)
It is crucial to remember that the purpose of Bible engagement surpasses mere reading: its essence lies in understanding the divine revelations within its pages, which leads to transformative life experiences and a deeper connection with God.

Moses in the Wilderness: On the Run (July 11, 2024, China Partnership)
In the post-pandemic era, sometimes it seems all of China is on the run. Modern Chinese have a lot in common with biblical Moses, who also lived a life on the run. God’s people may sometimes worry that God has forgotten them, but Moses’s story shows that God often uses wilderness seasons and a life on the run.

Chengdu: Opportunities and Challenges (July 15, 2024, China Partnership)
In this second portion of this series, several Chengdu house church pastors talked about how their city and their churches have changed in the past five years. While this period has been challenging, these pastors still see God at work in their communities. Most said the city and their churches were rocked by the Covid era, but that Chengdu is still a spiritually hungry place. Many pastors said they continue to experience growth and are seeing many unbelievers seek out their churches.

How Hong Kong Immigrants and UK Churches Are Working Together (July 16, ChinaSource)
In 2021, the UK government offered a new visa for British Nationals (Overseas) residing in the former colony of Hong Kong. This, along with an ever-tightening political environment in Hong Kong, opened the door to an influx of people from the territory moving to Great Britain. The arrival of so many new immigrants in a short period of time has presented both local and Chinese churches in the UK with some unique opportunities and challenges. Zipporah, a student at Singapore Bible College, conducted research into this situation for a class on mission research.

Society / Life

Baidu’s Mass Robotaxi Rollout Stirs Heated Debate in China (July 12, 2024, Sixth Tone)
Chinese tech giant Baidu has found itself at the center of a social media storm this week over its rapidly expanding robotaxi service, which is fueling concerns over road safety and job prospects.

Chinese Shoppers Panic Buy Pressed Cooking Oil Amid Safety Fears (July 12, 2024, Radio Free Asia)
Shoppers in China are rushing to buy artisanal cooking oils after the government announced a top-level probe into food safety amid reports that tankers previously used to haul industrial chemicals had been repurposed for cooking oil—without cleaning.

Flood Relief Donations Plummet Due to Erosion of Public Trust in Local Governments and Charities (July 11, 2024, China Digital Times)
CDT editors have archived two articles that discuss the Chinese public’s growing reluctance to open their wallets for disaster relief. Both articles include copious critical comments from netizens and mention a recent study showing a decline in charitable donations from corporations and the entertainment industry.

Economics / Trade / Business

Xi Tackles Slow Growth as Economy “Hits the Brakes” (July 15, 2024, BBC News)
China’s economy stumbled in the second quarter, official data shows, just as the country’s top leaders gathered for a key meeting to address its sluggish growth.

It grew 4.7% in the three months to June, falling short of expectations after a stronger start in the first three months of 2024. The government’s annual growth target is around 5%.

China Posts Record Trade Surplus as Foreign Importers Rush to Beat Tariffs (July 12, 2024, The Guardian)
China posted a record $99bn (£76.4bn) trade surplus last month amid signs of importers bringing forward orders to beat higher tariffs on goods from the world’s second biggest economy. The latest official figures from Beijing showed exports growing at their fastest rate in 15 months, while the weakness of China’s domestic economy resulted in falling imports.

Finance Is No Longer the Darling Career in Xi Jinping’s New Economic Order (July 10, 2024, The Diplomat)
In a commencement speech that unexpectedly went viral, Professor Li Feng of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) told graduates that financial workers should not be ashamed of their careers. His words resonated deeply, underscoring a growing sentiment in China: the golden age of high-flying financial careers is fading.

Unraveling China’s Fast Fashion: Why Cotton Recycling and Innovative Design Isn’t Enough (July 10, 2024, Christian Science Monitor)
In China, 26 million tons of clothes are thrown away every year. Recycling and design companies are repurposing discarded clothes, but experts say government intervention, financial incentives, and zero-waste workflows are necessary for real change.

Health / Environment

China’s Emissions of Two Potent Greenhouse Gases Rise 78% in Decade (July 15, 2024, The Guardian)
Emissions of two of the most potent greenhouse gases have substantially increased in China over the last decade, a study has found.

Perfluorocarbons are used in the manufacturing processes for flat-panel TVs and semiconductors, or as by-products from aluminium smelting. They are far more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, and can persist in the Earth’s atmosphere for thousands of years, unlike CO2 which can persist for up to 200 years.

Race Against Time: Plugging the Dam at Dongting Lake (July 15, 2024, Sixth Tone)
The dam at Dongting Lake lies just 200 meters from Chen Wei’s village home. As soon as he heard about the breach on July 5, he rushed over to find water sprouting from a small hole, like a mountain spring. Within a short while, it was a gushing stream.

Science / Technology

Illuminating the Future: Developments in PRC Photonic Chip Production (July 12, 2024, The Jamestown Foundation: China Brief)
At the end of June, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) marked a technological milestone by launching its first pilot production line for photonic microchips. The new facility, established by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Chip Hub for Integrated Photonics Xplore (CHIPX), is intended to accelerate the development and application of photonics technology in the PRC.

Audio Interview—Chinese Companies Offer to “Resurrect” Dead Loved Ones. It Raises Questions (June 17, 2024, NPR)
Generative artificial intelligence is becoming more mainstream in China, with companies using it for an unconventional service—to “resurrect” the dead. Many questions are being raised.

History / Culture

Change of Art: Bringing a 1,000-Year-Old Pottery Village Back to Life (July 11, 2024, Sixth Tone)
In the heart of Yaoli Village, where traditional homes with white walls and black tiles stand as a testament to the past, an abandoned pigsty has found new purpose.

Securitising History: Reimagining and Reshaping the “Imagined Community” in China’s New Era (July 11, 2024, Made in China Journal)
What is so important about the Qing and, from Beijing’s perspective, why is a “correct” understanding of Qing history so crucial to justify its legitimacy and territorial claims over its vast non-Han ethnic frontier? How is the effort to shape modern Chinese history related to President Xi Jinping’s agenda to mould a “Chinese national community”? Without understanding these questions, one may find it puzzling why Chinese authorities and official historians are so anxious to control the interpretation of Qing history.

Travel / Food

Five Observations from a Week in China (July 15, 2024, ChinaSource)
One year after the reopening, I dug out my passport and my 10-year tourist visa (in its last year) and headed to China! Four years away was too long. I needed to get back to see for myself how things had changed and to reconnect with friends and former colleagues.

Digital SIM: How to Use eSIMs in China (July 12, 2024, The Beijinger Blog)
eSIM, or embedded SIM, is a modern alternative to physical SIM cards. Introduced in 2016, eSIMs are built-in and support multiple carrier profiles, essentially phone plans, without the need for physical SIM swapping, making it easy to remain connected while traveling. Are eSIM services readily available for expats in Beijing?

Arts / Entertainment / Media

When Worlds Collide (July 12, 2024, China Media Project)
Government and private tech have teamed up to create the first AI-generated sci-fi short-video series in China. “Sanxingdui: Future Apocalypse,” released on July 8, imagines a world far in the future where characters travel back to the Bronze Age Sanxingdui (三星堆) civilization of southern China.

China’s Movie of the Summer Is a Dark Satire on Tiger Parents (July 16, 2024, Sixth Tone)
Shen and Ma play a high-powered couple that own a successful business and are determined to groom their son to take over the company. Worried that he will turn into a useless rich kid, they decide to raise him in something resembling poverty—but with a twist.

Books

The Lie of the Land: June Fourth, Censorship, and “On the Edge” (July 6, 2024, Los Angeles Review of Books)
How censorship works, and doesn’t, can be further illustrated by turning to a book that, on the surface, would seem to have nothing to do with June Fourth: Margaret Hillenbrand’s On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China (2023). This new work by a literary and visual studies scholar at Oxford is a tour de force of interdisciplinary scholarship. Hillenbrand’s thesis is that precarity and expulsion, rather than inequality, are the master concepts for the Chinese present.

Pray for China

July 16 (Pray for China: A Walk Through History)
On July 16, 1814, Robert Morrison (马礼逊) baptized the first Chinese Protestant Christian in mainland China, Cai Gao (蔡高弟兄). Cai Gao had been hired to help print the New Testament. In 1812, he asked to be baptized—Morrison not only refused, but fired him, regarding him as too quarrelsome. Cai continued to attend Morrison’s Sunday services for many months and was faithful in prayer and conduct. When Morrison finally baptized Cai, Morrison wrote prophetically in his journal, “May he be the first-fruits of a great harvest, one of millions who shall come and be saved on the day of wrath to come.” Pray with Morrison for millions more to be saved in China.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9