Warning on over-enrolment as Trump effect redirects students (April 30, 2025, University World News)
Hong Kong is a sought-after destination for students from China. But Hong Kong maintains a cap on the number of mainland and international students admitted to its universities.
Revamp time given to work, rest and play (April 28, 2025, China Daily)
As household incomes have risen, the demand for leisure-related consumption — including tourism, sports, and entertainment — has expanded. Yet time remains a key constraint. More and more people are now asking: how much leisure time do we really have, and how can it be better structured? As a result, public interest in reforming China's public holiday system is reaching new heights.
China and India’s Quiet Competition in the South Caucasus (May 12, 2025, The Diplomat) (Subscription required)
In the shadow of historic empires and modern powers, the South Caucasus – comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia – has long been a geopolitical crossroads. Can the rival Asian giants expand their influence without destabilizing the region?
Echoes in the digital sky: China’s deft transfer of aerial technology in South Asia’s rebalance — Phar Kim Beng (May 11, 2025, Malay Mail)
The skies over Kashmir, once contested with raw firepower, had become a digital domain — monitored, mapped, and manipulated by invisible systems. And at the heart of this transformation stood the steady, subtle hand of China’s deft transfer of aerial technology.
China takes center stage in Philippines' feisty midterm election (May 11, 2025, The Jakarta Post)
An April survey found that a majority of voters in the country of 110 million prefer candidates who assert Philippine sovereignty in the South China Sea, where the Marcos-led administration has taken a more assertive stance in its maritime confrontations with Beijing, which continue unabated.
China's biggest threat? The Chinese population (April 30, 2025, MSN - The Daily Digest)
Beijing is currently facing a crisis like no other, and time is running out. The culprit is not Donald Trump and the United States, nor the EU. The responsible seems to be the Chinese population.
How is China feeding its population of 1.4 billion? (April 11, 2025, China Power)
Decades of economic growth have enabled considerable strides in increasing access to food across China, but this growth has also generated new demographic demands and environmental strains. This report lays out the most pressing threats to China’s food security as well as key areas of progress and resilience.
What 2,000 years of Chinese history reveals about today’s AI-driven technology panic – and the future of inequality (April 24, 2025, The Conversation)
In normal times, the forces of capitalism will always tend to make the rich richer, pushing inequality ever higher unless checked by aggressive redistribution. So, who’s correct? And where does this leave us as we ponder the future in this latest, AI-driven industrial revolution?
Hong Kong flesh-eating infections hit 143 in 2024 following Strep surge (May 4, 2025, Dimsum Daily Hong Kong)
GAS infections, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, are typically spread via respiratory droplets or direct contact. While often mild, invasive strains can trigger life-threatening complications, including toxic shock and bloodstream infections. The CHP noted a parallel rise in scarlet fever cases, another GAS-linked illness, with 682 reports between January and March 2024 alone—30% of last year’s total.
'Rabbits sometimes make mistakes or grow lazy. That's when the tortoise seizes its chance': Chinese scientists make nuclear power breakthrough using abandoned US research (April 29, 2025, Live Science)
Scientists in China have refuelled a thorium reactor on the fly for the first time. The breakthrough is paving the way for working reactors that are significantly safer than conventional alternatives.
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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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