ZGBriefs The Weeks Top Picks, January 3 Issue
Three stories caught our eye this week, two serious, and one that will make you want to don all of your winter clothes, grab your camera, and head to Harbin, China.
關注中國社會的變遷與日常生活,從家庭、教育到公益與公共生活,探討這些議題對基督徒與教會的影響。
Three stories caught our eye this week, two serious, and one that will make you want to don all of your winter clothes, grab your camera, and head to Harbin, China.
Since it's the end of the year, we decided to jump on the "Top Posts" bandwagon that is careening through the blogosphere. However, since each ZGBriefs post includes dozens of stories, we are highlighting here the top ten most clicked links of the year in other words, your favorite stories.
So here I am, eggnog latte in hand, seated in one of the ubiquitous branches of an internationally branded coffee chain. The city is not important. This could be Hong Kong or Beijing, New York or London. The festive holiday decor would be the same anywhere, along with the exhortations to "Create Wonder" and "Share Joy" stenciled on the front window.
What do Christmas, the one-child policy, and high end art collecting have in common? They are all subjects of the articles we selected as among the most interesting for this week.
Over the weekend there was another deadly attack in Xinjiang Province, in which 16 people were killed.
Top stories from this week's ZG Briefs
Homelessness is not a social problem normally associated with China; however, it appears to be growing, particularly among the population of migrants who have moved into China's cities.
From Chen Guangcheng and the American culture wars to a village that is still living Mao's dream, our top stories this week are quite diverse.
I spend a lot of time in taxis in Beijing and since I am a blondish, big-nosed foreigner who speaks Chinese, many drivers are eager to chat. They want to know what work I do and how much money I make. When I tell them that I am an educator and don't make much money, they wonder what in the world I am doing here.
When I first went to China in the mid-1980s the rural/urban population ratio was 80/20. Today, after three decades of urbanization, that ratio is roughly 50/50.
The two big stories that came out of China this week were China's announced "adjustments" to its infamous one-child policy and the upcoming departure of US Ambassador Gary Locke.
Most of the news out of China this week was political, as the Third Plenum wrapped up their meeting in Beijing and issued their long-awaited communiqu. Details are still emerging and analysts are still trying to figure it all out. In this week's ZGBriefs, we included a special section with links to nine different articles. They are all helpful preliminary takes on the meeting.