Bangladeshi Fishers and Farmers at the Frontline of Climate Change (March 16, 2023, The Diplomat)
In the face of climate change and fossil fuel projects, Bangladeshi fishers and farmers worry that their livelihoods are at great risk.
Kishida’s surprise Kyiv visit bolsters Japan’s image as defender of peaceful rules-based order (March 23, 2023, Straits Times, via Asia News Network)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping stood on opposite fences of the Ukraine-Russia war on Tuesday, their concurrent visits to rival capitals in the name of promoting peace underscoring global chasms.
Join us in non-stop prayer efforts for Muslims in Ramadan 2023 (Pray4Movement)
Join us in non-stop prayer efforts for Muslims in Ramadan 2023
Christians from Myanmar Call for the Release of Jailed Baptist Leader (March 17, 2023, Christianity Today)
The junta charged him with unlawful association and breaking the country’s counterterrorism law for meeting with Kachin armed forces and praying with the leaders of Myanmar ’s government in exile, the National Unity Government. Hkalam, the former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), faces up to 13 years in prison.
The Khmer Rouge survivor who forgave his family's killers (March 15, 2023, UCA News)
It’s been an extremely long and painful journey to learn how to forgive the unforgivable, says a Christian who survived Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge and witnessed the massacre of his family by the genocidal regime.
Bhutanese Nepali Refugees Turn Their Trials into Zeal for Evangelism (March 13, 2023, Christianity Today)
Dilli Lumjel remembers the date and time he heard from God and gave his life to Jesus: May 4, 2011, at 1:33 a.m. Earlier that day, he had performed a Hindu funeral service for his father-in-law in the Beldangi 1 refugee camp in eastern Nepal, where he lived with more than 12,000 other refugees. Both of Lumjel’s parents-in-law had recently converted to Christianity.
Former terrorism hub being transformed by the Gospel (March 7, 2023, Mission News Network)
The city of Abbottabad, Pakistan has gone from a breeding ground for terrorism to fertile ground for the Gospel. Notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden hid in his Abbottabad compound until U.S. Navy Seals killed him in 2011. A year ago, Mission Cry started handing out Biblesin the area near bin Laden’s old compound.
Lent is here, should I care? (March 5, 2023, Thirst)
Honestly, before I wrote this article, I didn’t actually know. Was it a second chance at self-denial since, by now, most of us would have messed up our New Year’s Resolutions? Or is Lent just the other fasting period that’s not the National Day one? Most of my friends in their churches don’t do Lent either. Turns out only Catholic and some Protestant churches observe it.
South Korean cardinal’s memoir offers richness of Asia to whole Church (March 4, 2023, Aleteia)
In a new book interview, South Korean Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, sheds new light on his upbringing and vision for the Church.
Are Buddhism and Christianity Compatible with Science? (February 23, 2023, Reasons to Believe)
Are you awed by the compatibility of science and Christianity? Have you thought about the compatibility of science and other religions? What about Buddhism?
Xi Jinping's show: Who's who in China's new government (March 13, 2023, NPR)
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, approved personnel changes in the government that are largely seen as having been orchestrated by Xi, who has become the country's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Here are some of the key players.
Poetry as Doxology: "Where Are You Going" (March 8, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
The poem “Where Are You Going?” was birthed during a long contemplative walk in a forest. I heard a gentle call from afar as the moist wind breezed softly against my face and the leaves under my feet made a rustling sound in this sanctuary of nature.
Looking Forward with Concern and Hope (March 6, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
How do you sense and describe an inflection point? When riding in a sports car through an S-curve you can feel the shift in acceleration. However, this kind of shift is harder to sense in the unfolding history of a country or culture. Fortunately, China’s leaders have named and defined the start of the New Era (2012) as an inflection point for China’s development. Building on the articles in the winter 2022 ChinaSource Quarterly, in this issue we continue reflecting on these shifts and their implications for Chinese Christians.
Lived to Be Forgotten: Dixon E. Hoste, Missionary to China (March 2, 2023, Christianity Today) (subscription required)
Dixon Edward Hoste (1861–1946) was a British missionary who served in China for over 40 years. Although he succeeded James Hudson Taylor as the general director of the China Inland Mission (CIM), much less has been written and recorded of his life and ministry than of Taylor’s.
Chinese city claims to have destroyed 1 billion pieces of personal data collected for Covid control (March 3, 2023, CNN)
Wuxi, a manufacturing hub on China’s eastern coast and home to 7.5 million people, held a ceremony Thursday to dispose of Covid-related personal data, the city’s public security bureau said in a statement on social media. The one billion pieces of data were collected for purposes including Covid tests, contact tracing and the prevention of imported cases – and they were only the first batch of such data to be disposed, the statement said.
Two Sessions: China looks at reforms to deepen Xi Jinping control (March 5, 2023, BBC)
The Two Sessions, as the meetings are known, are an annual affair. But this year's sessions are particularly significant as delegates are expected to reshape several key Communist Party and state institutions. They will also tighten control over bodies overseeing the finance sector and scientific and technology work, while "strengthening party-building work" in private businesses, according to state media.
Spiritual Life Study of Chinese Residents (The Association of Religion Data Archives)
The objective of this study was to design and collect a state of the art random sample of Chinese citizens and assess their religious and spiritual life.
How I Prayed: Hold Fast to Christ (February 27, 2023, China Partnership)
“After three years of intermittent lockdowns, Christians want to come together... My friend said her church is meeting in small groups, with a few families in each group....Pray for God to give pastors and believers in church bodies like this bravery to face their reality, and also patience as they persevere in difficult circumstances.”
Beyond the Standard Narrative (February 24, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
By putting the emphasis on what the government is doing instead of focusing on the lives of Chinese believers, the “standard narrative” unfortunately misses much of what is going on in the Chinese church today. For members of the global church trying to better understand their brothers and sisters in China, this fixation on policy can have two unfortunate results.
China rolls out searchable public databases of officially approved religious leaders (February 23, 2023, Radio Free Asia)
The state-backed Buddhist Association of China and Taoist Association of China launched the database on Feb. 22, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing "frequent cases in recent years of fraudsters posing as religious figures." "This searchable database ... will help curb the chaos caused by fake monks and Taoist taking money for teaching," the report said. It said similar databases for Muslim, Catholic and Protestant clerics would soon follow.