ZGBriefs | October 10, 2024

Featured Article

Cross-Border Trips Near Pre-Pandemic Levels During China’s ‘Golden Week’ Holiday (October 8, 2024, South China Morning Post)

The week-long holiday—which this year started on October 1, China’s National Day, and ended on Monday—is traditionally one of the country’s main travel periods involving billions of journeys inside and outside the country.

This year’s holiday came as China’s economy is grappling with flagging growth and with consumer confidence lingering just above historic lows.

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Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

China’s Sentinel State (October 7, 2024, China Media Project)

Hype around China’s “digital panopticon” is huge. But according to Minxin Pei, an expert in Chinese governance and mass surveillance, cutting-edge tech is just one part of the Party-state’s toolkit, which also leans heavily on manpower and pervasive self-censorship—what he calls China’s “sentinel state.”

Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: PRC Consulate Gray Zone ‘Pop-up’ Events in New York and Beyond (October 4, 2024, The Jamestown Foundation)

The Consulates General of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago have been conducting gray zone “pop-up” consular service events across the United States under the initiative “Bringing Consular Services into the Community,” often at non-diplomatic facilities. These events provide consular services such as passport renewals and document processing, but their legality remains questionable due to possible violations of international law.

Blurred Boundaries: The Role of Chinese Companies in CCP Policy (October 3, 2024, The Diplomat)

In July 2024, a joint investigation between the New York Times and The Wire China revealed the connections between Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese businessman accused of corruption and bribery and the business dealings of the famous Jack Ma. In the words of its authors, this work “offers a first-person view of Chinese capitalism.” Journalists from the NYT and the Wire showed how Chinese entrepreneurs commonly find themselves pressured by the demands and interests of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Heilongjiang Cadre Expelled from Party for Reading Forbidden Publications (October 2, 2024, China Digital Times)

The revised Chinese Communist Party Regulations on Disciplinary Actions, which took effect at the start of this year, strengthen the CCP’s ability to punish members who read, browse, or listen to politically problematic materials, or who publish content that undermines Party unity or calls into question Party orthodoxy.

Religion

Chinese Christians Want the Church to Adopt Children with Disabilities (October 7, 2024, Christianity Today)

Wang and other Christians in China believe the church can play a unique role in adopting children with special needs, especially after the Chinese government banned international adoptions in late August. The news came four years after China stopped processing adoptions—most of which involved children with disabilities—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without this pathway for children with medical needs, thousands of children may face a lifetime of institutionalization.

Reflections on Lausanne’s Fourth Congress on World Evangelism (October 8, 2024, ChinaSource)

Within the plenary programming, a speaker highlighted the Mission China 2030 vision, first launched at the Asian Church Leaders Forum in 2013. For the first 100 years of Christianity in China, missionaries came to China. The second 100 years saw the advance of the gospel in China. In the third 100 years, a major goal is to send out an overseas missionary force.

Remaining Faithful amid Challenges: Catholics in China (October 7, 2024, ChinaSource)

Above all, we hope you will see that Chinese Catholics live with a strong awareness of Our Lord Jesus’ presence with them amidst many challenges, that they live in hope in exceedingly challenging times, and they remain faithful to him in ways that can inspire us all.

Trials, Tribulations, and the Formation of a Ministry (October 4, 2024, ChinaSource)

In the first one or two years after Hsi believed in Jesus, everyone laughed at him and thought that he would soon be in trouble. However, they saw a radiant Mr. Hsi. His family relationships were healthy, and his property was well taken care of. Many people were attracted to Christ because of his good deeds and eventually believed in the Lord.

The J-Curve: Suffering with Jesus (October 3, 2024, China Partnership)

In the Chinese church, the first step is to accept the difficulties in life. In China, when we believe in Christ, most people believe that this God is the sovereign, almighty Lord. We confess this way. He created the heavens and the earth, and is so powerful. He also loves us so much. Why doesn’t God just give me what I want?

Xi’an: Rich Cultural Heritage (October 7, 2024, China Partnership)

This October, we are praying for Xi’an, located in northwestern China. Xi’an is famous for its terra cotta warriors, an army built more than 2,000 years ago to usher China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, into the afterlife. Xi’an is the eastern end of the Silk Road, and was the capital of several ruling dynasties throughout Chinese history. Today, the city has a population of about 13 million, and remains popular as a tourist destination.

Society / Life

So, Are You Pregnant Yet? China’s In-Your-Face Push for More Babies. (October 8, 2024, The New York Times)

Faced with a declining population that threatens economic growth, the Chinese government is responding with a time-tested tactic: inserting itself into this most intimate of choices for women, whether or not to have a child. Officials are not just going door to door to ask women about their plans. They have partnered with universities to develop courses on having a “positive view of marriage and childbearing.” At high-profile political gatherings, officials are spreading the message wherever they can.

Married to the Motherland (October 4, 2024, China Media Project)

When teachers Wan Yi (万亿) and Guo Yong (郭勇) tied the knot in Shanghai on September 22, they shared their special day with over 5,100 other couples. All of them were taking part in a series of mass weddings held in 50 locations across China, organized by the country’s official women’s rights organization together with various government agencies.

China’s Public Transport Serves 90% of Urban Residents, Leaving US Cities in the Dust (October 5, 2024, South China Morning Post)

China’s sprawling public transport networks now serve 90 per cent of the country’s urban population, far more than those in major cities in the United States, Australia and Africa. Major coastal and central Chinese cities offer “convenient” public transport access to nearly two times more of their populations than other global hubs, including New York, according to a new report.

China’s Workers Complain of Being ‘Beasts of Burden’ (October 6, 2024, Radio Free Asia)

There’s a new social media buzzword making the rounds in China that is a shorthand way for workers to complain about being overworked and exploited—“oxen and horses.” The metaphor has gone viral again recently with a video clip of talk show star Xu Zhisheng quipping about his company: “So what, are you gonna milk me now?”

How China’s ‘One-Child Generation’ Got Trapped in the Population Pyramid (October 2, 2024, South China Morning Post, subscription required)

Wendy Liu has grown to dread the sound of her phone. These days, most calls mean a parent of the 47-year-old vocational school teacher has been rushed to the hospital. Whether her mother with Alzheimer’s disease or her father with cancer, any emergency means a long, anxious drive from work to her home in Guangzhou—a stress-ridden trip she has made on countless nights.

Liu and her husband Deng Jie are members of China’s first generation of only children. Born in 1977—only a year after the country instituted a one-child limit for most urban households—they not only have to raise two children, but also care for four ageing parents.

Women Take a Stand in China’s Youth Fishing Craze (October 3, 2024, Sixth Tone)

Fishing has surged in popularity among young urban Chinese people in recent years due to the increased popularity of outdoor exercise, increasingly affordable equipment, and because it fits a desire for a slower, more meditative way of life. Women are increasingly joining in too. On the lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, posts and videos carrying the tag “female lure anglers” and “female anglers” have been viewed over 73 million times.

Economics / Trade / Business

China’s Economy Is In Bad Shape. Can It’s ‘Whatever-It-Takes’ Stimulus Effort Turn Things Around (October 7, 2024, CNN)

Hong Kong and China markets are on a roll. But whether the rally continues and, more importantly, whether benefits from the stimulus measures spread beyond stock investors and into the real economy, which is suffering from a potential deflationary spiral and is at risk of missing its own 5% target growth rate, depends on what hasn’t yet been said.

PRC Fertilizer Export Controls Provoke Derisking Abroad (October 4, 2024, China Brief Archives – Jamestown Foundation)

In June 2024, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) introduced additional restrictions on fertilizer exports, sharply reducing urea exports by 83 percent compared to the previous year. This move aims to stabilize domestic prices and safeguard food security, but has disrupted global fertilizer supplies, prompting countries like India and South Korea to seek alternative suppliers.

EU Presses Ahead with Chinese EV Tariffs After Divided Vote (October 4, 2024, Reuters)

The European Union will press ahead with hefty tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, the EU executive said on Friday, even after the bloc’s largest economy Germany rejected them, exposing a rift over its biggest trade row with Beijing in a decade. The proposed duties on EVs built in China of up to 45% would cost carmakers billions of extra dollars to bring cars into the bloc and are set to be imposed from next month for five years.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

A Long Journey Home Review – Family Pressures Reach Boiling Point in a Shocking Documentary (October 8, 2024, The Guardian)

This documentary has enough characterisation and backstory for an entire 21-episode soap opera. Zhang has just returned home from study in the US and records the oppressive atmosphere at length from various fixed positions; she has set up cameras in the family home, a big apartment with small bedrooms in which people incubate their sadness and frustration.

Language / Language Learning

Don’t Learn Mandarin Pronunciation by Reading, Listen and Mimic Instead(October 7, 2024, Hacking Chinese)

Don’t try to learn pronunciation by reading. Instead, the best way to improve is to listen to and mimic native speakers. Focusing too much on how sounds are written down can actually make it harder to hear them!

History / Culture

Unraveling the Mysteries of Life in China’s Ancient Capital (October 4, 2024, Sixth Tone)

Yinxu, the capital of the Late Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), is China’s archaeological holy land. Since the identification of oracle bones near what is today the city of Anyang at the turn of the 20th century, through the first official archaeological digs at the site in the 1920s, and later astounding discoveries like the tomb of the warrior queen Fu Hao, Yinxu has exerted a particular hold on the imaginations of generations of Chinese.

Travel / Food

Adventure Meets Risk as Tourists Flock to Yunnan’s Wild Peaks (October 7, 2024, Sixth Tone)

Deep within the Ailao Mountains, an uninhabited stretch of southwestern China’s Yunnan province, a surge of thrill-seekers is risking everything for a taste of adventure. Drawn by viral videos by influencers capturing the treacherous beauty of the region, tourists are flooding this once-hidden destination during the National Holiday between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7.

Cross-Border Trips Near Pre-Pandemic Levels During China’s ‘Golden Week’ Holiday (October 8, 2024, South China Morning Post)

The week-long holiday—which this year started on October 1, China’s National Day, and ended on Monday—is traditionally one of the country’s main travel periods involving billions of journeys inside and outside the country.

This year’s holiday came as China’s economy is grappling with flagging growth and with consumer confidence lingering just above historic lows.

Pray for China

October 7 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)

On Oct. 7, 1883, Fanny Rossier Clarke passed away in Yunnan. She and her husband George W. Clarke (花国香) moved to Dali in 1881, becoming the first Protestant missionaries to live in Yunnan. During their first year in Dali, George hand-copied 6,600 gospel books containing 48,700 pages. He served in China for 45 years before passing away in 1919. By 1949, 130,000 Protestants were found among Yunnan’s minorities, nearly 20% of the total for China. However, Yunnan is the primary home of 204 minority groups—more than any other province in China—and 94 of those groups have no known Christians. Pray for a fruitful harvest among Yunnan’s unsaved minorities.

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29