A weekly roundup of news and analysis to help you follow key developments in China and the Chinese church.
How China is slowly expanding its power in Africa, one TV set at a time (July 24, 2019, CNN)
Xi's dream was to upgrade huge swathes of Africa to modern, digital satellite TV networks, […] so long, in fact, that a TV channel from Beijing could be beamed to African homes.
China’s “5,000 Years of History”: Fact or Fiction? July 14, 2019, Radii China)
The recent elevation of the 5,300-year-old site of Liangzhu to UNESCO World Heritage status revives an old debate about modern China's historical narrative.
Summer Censorship: Weibo Launches “Project Sky Blue” (July 6, 2019, What’s on Weibo)
Earlier this week, the administration of Sina Weibo announced a special summer holiday crackdown on “vulgar content.”
Chinese Christianity encounters Islam along the Belt and Road Initiative (July 3, 2019, East Asia Dialogue)
Not only is it exporting cultural and economic influence, but with more than thirty million Christians in China, it is slated to become a major exporter of Christianity as well.
Shanghai Sacred: inside China's religious revival – photo essay (June 20, 2019, The Guardian)
Photographer and anthropologist Liz Hingley uncovers the spiritual landscape ofChina’s largest city, revealing the spaces and rituals of this cosmopolitan megalopolis that is home to 26 million people…
"Sing Hallelujah to the Lord" an unlikely anthem of Hong Kong protests (June 18, 2019, Reuters)
For the past week, the hymn has been heard almost non-stop at the main protest site, in front of the city’s Legislative Council, and at marches and even at tense stand-offs with the police.
China’s population to peak in 2023, five years earlier than official estimates, new research shows (May 2, 2019, South China Morning Post)
Did Beijing’s policymakers wait too long to lift the controversial one-child policy for its rapidly greying society? A new report suggests they did.
Video: The legendary tale behind the Dragon Boat Festival (June 5, 2019, Inkstone)
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the traditional Chinese calendar. This year it's on June 7.
Vatican’s Chinese Christian artworks go on display at Beijing’s Palace Museum (May 28, 2019, South China Morning Post)
Chinese artworks owned by the Vatican Museums have gone on display at the Palace Museum inside Beijing’s Forbidden City until July 14.
Universities Aren’t Ready for Trade War Casualties (May 19, 2019, Foreign Policy)
The shock of a cutoff of Chinese students’ tuition could weaken many schools’ financial position significantly.
Can China become the wine world’s next California? (May 12, 2019, South China Morning Post)
The US state took 40 years to become one of the world’s great wine regions. China wants to do it in 10.
The Hermit Culture Living On in China’s Misty Mountains (May 4, 2019, Sixth Tone)
Disillusioned recluses have come to the Zhongnan Mountains for centuries. Now, a government campaign threatens their way of life.