A weekly roundup of news and analysis to help you follow key developments in China and the Chinese church.
China's middle class: We're being picked like leeks by the government (November 4, 2018, CNN) Wang is one of millions of Chinese middle-class men and women who grew up in a roaring economy… but the past year has been especially tough.
Insights into the Social Credit System on Chinese Online Media vs Its Portrayal in Western Media (October 30, 2018, What’s on Weibo)
Contrasting Chinese and Western media coverage of China’s Social Credit System
Buddha-mania: Understanding China’s Buddha Building Boom (October 23, 2018, Sixth Tone)
Is there such a thing as too many Buddhas? China may be about to find out.
How the Foreign NGO Law Has Affected International Adoption (October 16, 2018, China File) The Chinese government has prevented foreign adoption agencies from legally filing temporary activities in China, and has effectively shut down at least three major official programs.
Duck Tales: The Origin of the Birds in Beijing’s Famous Dish (October 4, 2018, Sixth Tone)
Chinese breeders are looking to seize back some of the lean duck market and ensure that the country’s most renowned duck dishes are domestically sourced.
China Unbound: What An Emboldened China Means For The World (October 2, 2018, NPR)
It's time to say it has risen. But what does an emboldened China mean for the world?
With Vatican Talks and Bulldozers, China Aims to Control Christianity (September 24, 2018, The New York Times)
“The administration feels that the government had been too lax in the past and now wants to increase the pressure.”
Land of a billion road trips: Chinese tourists are ditching buses for their own steering wheels (September 18, 2018, The Globe and Mail) On the rise of road-tripping in China.
China cracks down on 'chaotic' religious information online (September 10, 2018, The Guardian) All organisations promoting religious messages on the internet will have to apply for licenses.
China’s lost little emperors... how the ‘one-child policy’ will haunt the country for decades (September 2, 2018, The Guardian)
There has been an enormous amount of public venting on the shortcomings of the one-child policy in recent years.
China Has Withheld Samples of a Dangerous Flu Virus (August 27, 2018, The New York Times) For over a year, the Chinese government has withheld lab samples of a rapidly evolving influenza virus from the United States.
The Farmer Who Changed China Forever (August 21, 2018, Sixth Tone)
Forty years ago, Yan Hongchang broke the law to save his village from hunger.