Crisis in Pakistan Deep Enough to Attract Military Takeover: Former PM Abbasi (April 23, 2023, Khaama)
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a former Pakistani prime minister, reportedly urged the key stakeholders to start a dialogue and warned that the country’s current economic and political crisis has all the makings of inspiring a military takeover. He noted that the army had previously intervened in much less dire situations.
Nuclear weapons: Why South Koreans want the bomb (April 21, 2023, BBC)
North Korea is building ever-more sophisticated nuclear weapons that can target cities across the US, leaving people to question whether Washington would still come to South Korea's defence.
Young Thais who questioned monarchy look to win seats in parliament (April 19, 2023, Channel News Asia)
The 30-year-old is one of more than a dozen activists from a student-led protest movement who are taking their once-taboo cause from the streets to the ballot box as candidates in the election. They are bringing the issue of the role of monarchy in society into the open.
‘Like a divorce’: Mongolia, landlocked between Russia and China, fears new Cold War (April 6, 2023, South China Morning Post)
The country sits landlocked between Russia and China, and is fearful of antagonising either country. It gets much of its electricity from Russia, and China buys much of its exports, mainly agricultural goods and minerals such as copper.
UN chief demands Taliban revoke ban on women staff (April 5, 2023, Al Jazeera)
The statement on Wednesday came a day after the UN said it had been informed by Afghanistan’s governing Taliban that Afghan women would no longer be allowed to work for the world body. That announcement came after the UN mission in the country expressed concern that its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in eastern Nangarhar province.
The Widodo family: Indonesia’s newest political dynasty? (March 27, 2023, East Asia Forum)
As the first Indonesian president in the post-Reformasi era not from the political, military or Islamic establishment, Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) ascension to the presidency in 2014 was heralded as a milestone. After just a single term, the foundations for his own political family were laid.
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.
Blinken heads to Asia, with China, Russia tensions soaring (February 24, 2023, AP)
The State Department announced late Thursday that Blinken would travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan before going to India for a meeting of the Group of 20 foreign ministers from the world’s largest industrialized and developing countries, including China and Russia.
Ramadan and the Gospel (March 24, 2023, ChinaSource Blog)
Today we are reposting “The Two Eids and Other Hui Celebrations,” from the series “Know Thy Hui Neighbor” by Julie Ma. She describes the importance of Ramadan, how it is celebrated by the Hui, and how Christians can share the good news of Jesus in the context of the festival.
China Facilitates Iran-Saudi Arabia Détente (March 14, 2023, China Digital Times)
In a surprise deal facilitated by China on Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they would resume their diplomatic relations. The deal is a breakthrough for the two Middle Eastern rivals, who will reopen their embassies for the first time in seven years and implement cooperation agreements signed two decades ago. For China, it is an opportunity to showcase a growing presence in international conflict resolution and advance its vision of a global order not led by the U.S.
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Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio
Blessing Asia
In October-2022 more than 500 Christian leaders from across Asia gathered in Thailand for the Asia 2022 Congress, sponsored by the Lausanne Movement and various partnering organizations. I had the opportunity to participate in the Congress virtually and was mightily blessed. From Bible exposition to K-pop worship, and through seminars and workshops, the participants were encouraged by the stories of what God is doing in countries all over Asia. Clearly, God is on the move.
A beautiful vision was portrayed in a video of the popular worship song The Blessing, featuring singers from all over Asia. Here it is:
Many of the sessions have already been posted on their website and to their YouTube channel.
One that I found particularly helpful considering all that is going on in China was a presentation titled Church and State Relationship in Asia Today. You can see the video here.
I encourage you to spend some time on their website; there are fantastic resources for understanding God’s work in Asia today.
Original link: https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/blog-entries/blessing-asia/
Image credit: Andrea Brucker, via Unsplash
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