Bhutan makes a bold leap toward a high-income future (August 29, 2024, East Asia Forum)
Bhutan's 13th Five-Year Plan aims to transform the country into a high-income economy by 2034, focusing on rapid economic growth while maintaining its Gross National Happiness philosophy. The plan includes enhancing infrastructure, fostering innovation and developing new industries like digital economies and a mindfulness city.
Oil, opulence, and sharia: Unveiling the rich history and economic realities of Brunei (January 11, 2024, The Times of India)
A tiny tropical nation on the northern edge of Borneo island, Brunei is one of the wealthiest countries in the world due to its abundant energy reserves.
Riding the Trans-Mongolian Railway, one of the world’s most epic train journeys (August 14, 2024, CNN)
Stretching 2,215 kilometers (1,376 miles) from Mongolia’s northern border with Russia to China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the south, the Trans-Mongolian Railway was completed in 1956 after nearly two decades of construction across some of the planet’s most scenic but arduous landscapes.
Uzbekistan’s Educational Challenge: Scaling up for a Booming Population (April 15, 2024, The Diplomat) (Subscription required)
In Uzbekistan, general secondary and secondary specialized education is both free and compulsory under Article 50 of the Constitution. It spans 11 years and is divided into three stages – primary education (grades 1 through 4); basic secondary education (grades 5 through 9); and secondary education (grades 10 and 11). Children are admitted to a primary school at the age of seven and graduate at the age of 18.
Beyond Everest — discovering Nepal as a non-trekker (September 5, 2024, Arab News)
Nepal is best known as the entry point to the Himalayas and Mount Everest, but this beautiful country actually provides a host of options for all kinds of travelers — even those with no desire to summit a mountain.
A Closer Look at Child Labour in Timor-Leste—Challenges and Progress Towards Ending the Practice (June 11, 2024, United Nations)
Apart from the economic drive, the report also reveals that some parents and caregivers see child labour as a positive social norm and a means for children to gain experience and learn skills. Most parents do not understand how long hours spent in active economic work can have irreversible physical, mental and psychological consequences for their children.
Bhutan: Dispatch from the Hermit’s happy hills (June 14, 2024, The Interpreter)
Bhutanese earnestly believe that collective well-being assumes the greatest priority for their citizens. Their cultural richness draws from a reservoir of profundity. It repudiates the logic that throwing money away at life’s problems and material desires will pacify existential questions of who we are and what makes us happy. In other words, no matter if one flaunts Balmain or Givenchy, the void within will not fill.
How many Christians are there in Uzbekistan? (June 13, 2024, Open Doors UK)
Uzbekistan is largely Muslim, so any Christian who converts from Islam faces increased pressure from their family and community. These converts may be beaten or expelled from their communities. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to house arrest, which remains a common and socially accepted form of pressuring female converts.
Meet the Nick Fury of Global Missions (August 27, 2024, Radical)
Our founder David Platt had the opportunity of interviewing Michael Oh, CEO of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. For 50 years, their purpose has been to accelerate God’s global mission through Christian collaboration. Watch to learn more about the Fourth Lausanne Congress, being celebrated this September.
Kyrgyzstan Proposes Ban on Face Coverings (September 4, 2024, The Times of Central Asia)
The State Commission on Religious Affairs of Kyrgyzstan has proposed several important initiatives to regulate religious activity in the country and in particular, a ban on face coverings that hinder citizen identification in state institutions and public places.
‘Special forces-styled travel’? Changing face of mainland Chinese travellers triggers Hong Kong tourism rethink (September 8, 2024, Channel News Asia)
Shifts in the age, priorities and perspectives of mainland tourists in Hong Kong are posing unique challenges for businesses in capturing their attention and spending. In the first of a two-parter, CNA explores how the city is coping on the tourism front.
China’s tourism market poised for Mid-Autumn Festival surge, driven by cultural and short-distance trip boom (September 7, 2024, Global Times)
Experts predict that this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, from September 15 to 17, will see sustained high demand for short-distance travel. Combined with the upcoming National Day holidays, this is expected to inject continued vitality into consumption, contributing to economic growth in the latter half of the year.
People from Macao and Hong Kong spend 454 million yuan in Zhuhai each month (September 6, 2024, the Macao News)
Zhuhai is registering more than 360,000 monthly arrivals from Macao and Hong Kong, a new study finds, with the visitors happily digging into their pockets. The increasing number of SAR residents heading to mainland Chinese cities like Zhuhai to shop and dine is an ongoing challenge for local businesses
Villagers reluctant to say goodbye to one of Hong Kong's last squatter settlements (September 8, 2024, The Manila Times)
The Cha Kwo Ling village in east Kowloon is filled with small houses built from metal sheets and stones, as well as old granite buildings, contrasting sharply with the high-rise structures that dominate much of the Asian financial hub.
Workplace violence and turnover intention among Chinese nurses: the mediating role of compassion fatigue and the moderating role of psychological resilience (September 7, 2024, BMC Public Health)
Workplace violence is a global public health issue and a major occupational hazard cross borders and environments. Nurses are the primary victims of workplace violence due to their frontline roles and continuous interactions. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of clinical registered nurses from public hospitals in Changsha, Hunan, China.
Macao a perfect blend of historic charm, modern flair (June 20, 2024, Global Times)
The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been named "Culture City of East Asia 2025," according to a recent Xinhua News Agency report, which cited the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR government.
Chongqing: Student Ministry Is Not Like Other Cities (August 22, 2024, China Partnership)
The student ministry in Chongqing is not like other cities. Up to now, there is still not a good student ministry here. I’ve heard that other cities – like Shandong Province, or Xi’an—have large ministries, with many students who graduate from them. In Chongqing, many student ministries have faced difficulties and even eventually left the city. All the churches in Chongqing who do student ministry are being persecuted. They are very strict with students here.
Chongqing: I Long to See Revival (August 26, 2024, China Partnership)
More than a decade ago, the president of my seminary told me, “Chongqing has never experienced revival. At different times, there have been waves of revival throughout China, but Chongqing has never been touched.” He encouraged me to stay in Chongqing, believing that one day, I would see revival. This is my deep hope.
In the Fire, Yet Unburned: A Journey of Faith in Adversity (August 27, 2024, Chinese Church Voices)
Though I have become a respected professor at a renowned Chinese university, with a decent job and God-given gifts and talents sufficient to meet the university’s various assessment requirements, my journey of faith has been one of stumbling towards God as it is he who never abandons me. I fall, get up, and fall again. But after such fiery trials, I find myself reborn like wild grass.
Crossing Cultures: Missio Dei and Missionary Formation (August 26, 2024, ChinaSource)
I have heard it said that the church of God has a mission to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to all unreached peoples, and when we fulfill that mission, the Lord will return. It is better said that the God of mission has a church, a people he shapes and sends in collaboration with missio dei. God himself accomplishes missionary formation through a series of shaping events that unfold over a lifetime.