Saudi Arabia on the fence between the eagle and the dragon (September 27, 2024, Istituto Analisi Relazioni Internazionali)
Saudi Arabia, who is emerging as a key player for the supremacy on the Middle East, has been courted by both the Eagle and the Dragon. Consequently, the Kingdom is facing a geopolitical dilemma: whether to remain aligned with the US and the Western bloc or enter the Chinese sphere of influence.
FOCUS: New Japan ruling LDP chief Ishiba may face make-or-break moment as PM (September 28, 2024, Kyodo News)
A moment of truth awaits the 67-year-old leader, with two pressing issues: when to call a general election to seek a public mandate and whether he can stitch together a party that was split over a record nine candidates in the leadership election -- a necessary step for the new chief to remain in power.
Central Asia's High-Stakes Gamble With The Taliban (September 27, 2024, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)
Central Asian countries are taking steps to broaden relations with their southern neighbor, the Taliban-led Afghanistan, despite the hard-line group’s increasingly restrictive policies, particularly toward women.
Our View: Cyprus problem at the UN: A 50-year speech no one’s listening to (September 28, 2024, Cyprus Mail)
What we call the ‘Cyprus problem’ appears to be of little interest to the people on both sides of the dividing line, especially the younger generations, who get on with their daily lives regardless. A few politicians and journalists are still dealing with it, but they operate in their own little world feeding off each other, with nobody listening, because they have heard it all before. The problem has been analysed to death, without anything of practical import ever happening.
Will the Kremlin allow Armenia to slip from its grasp? (September 27, 2024, Emerging Europe)
Despite Western misperceptions, little has changed in the geopolitics of the South Caucasus. Armenia remains enmeshed with Russia and Azerbaijan remains outside Russia’s sphere of influence.
Iraq's Amended Personal Status Law Could Make 9-Year-Olds Brides (September 19, 2024, Human Rights Watch)
At 9 years old, a girl should be in primary school. She is not old enough to drive a car, vote or hold a job, but according to some Iraqi lawmakers, she is old enough to be in a wedding dress.
AI-WAR: Is Unsafe, Untested, Unreliable Artificial Intelligence Giving China A Technological Advantage Over The U.S.? (September 29, 2024, The EurAsian Times)
As AI is shaping warfare, there is now immense competition among the major military powers of the world to bring about more AI innovations. China seems to be leading the race here if the regular concerns of the American strategic elites in this regard are any indication.
The Coda to Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Movement (September 26, 2024, World Politics Review) (Subscription required)
The verdict and sentencing in this case in many ways mark a coda to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, which gained international attention with massive protests in 2019. Activists tried to protect the city’s exceptionalism under the “one state, two system” policy that was put in place after its sovereignty was returned to Beijing in 1997
“China’s K-pop moment”: Wukong’s global success sparks government embrace of video games as soft power (September 25, 2024, Rest of World)
Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong has become a global hit. State media has embraced Wukong’s success and hailed games as a soft power export. The Chinese government traditionally views video games as harmful to the youth.
China is a ‘fire-breathing dragon on government steroids’ whose tech will surpass Western firms in a decade, U.S. think tank says (September 20, 2024, Fortune) (Subscription required)
It’s time to reject the view that “China can’t innovate,” says a leading U.S. think tank, as Beijing tries to foster its own advanced technologies to get a strategic edge against Washington.
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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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