• Mon-01-2025
How China Aligned Itself with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 (January 21, 2025, Carnegie Endowment)

China has aligned its cooperation model with Saudi Arabia’s own priorities, most notably since the kingdom unveiled its Vision 2030. Although China announced the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, the big push in relations happened only after the ascendance of King Salman to the throne in 2015 and Riyadh’s push for Beijing to meet Saudi needs.

  • Mon-01-2025
There is something special about a Lunar New Year in Hong Kong (January 26, 2025, South China Morning Post) (Subscription required)

For ex-residents, this is the time to miss the city and remember past celebrations. The beginning of the Year of the Snake will be no exception.

  • Mon-01-2025
What is ‘Little New Year’ or the Kitchen God Festival, celebrated in China and Vietnam? (January 22, 2025, South China Morning Post) (Subscription required)

In 2025, Lunar New Year’s day falls on 29 January, inaugurating the Year of the Snake. But did you know that the week prior to it is known as xiao nian, or “little new year”, during which traditional tasks to prepare for the new year are performed?

  • Mon-01-2025
Chinese New Year 2025: Shape-Shifting Traditions and Spirituality (January 22, 2025, LBB Online)

As the year of the wood snake dawns, Chinese New Year stands as a testament to the enduring balance between tradition and innovation. From the rekindled appreciation for custom and spirituality, to the mindful embrace of sustainability and technology, the festival offers a vivid snapshot of how a timeless celebration can grow alongside the times.

  • Mon-01-2025
A sprawling megacity of multi-level madness: why Chongqing in China is my wonder of the world (January 20, 2025, The Guardian)

This megacity is like Hong Kong on steroids – a vertically sprawling, astonishing urban phenomenon that can only be understood in three dimensions

  • Mon-01-2025
John C. H. Wu on the Incarnation of the Word of God (January 21, 2025, ChinaSource)

The Christian life is lived in real, concrete situations: the union of the transcendent and the immanent, flesh and spirit. It is at times easy for us, especially those (often in the Western world) inclined to think about theological questions in the abstract, to forget that in authentic Christianity we find the union of flesh and spirit.3 The physical world of persons and things is not separate from the spiritual world, it is the spiritual world!

  • Mon-01-2025
Story of a Christian Fraudster (January 20, 2025, China Partnership)

This is one wife’s plea to the world to recognize that her husband is a good man, innocent of the charges he faces. We share this personal testimony because it is the real-world portrait of the experience published on our blog last week: because his church accepts tithes and offerings, a serious believer and church leader has been charged with theft and deception.

  • Mon-01-2025
A Time to Pray (January 17, 2025, ChinaSource)

My heart aches as I reflect on the devastation caused by the wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area. Images and videos of the loss of exquisite buildings—churches, senior residences, and even the grand homes of celebrities—all burned to ashes flooded social media. I live fifty miles away, yet the strong Santa Ana winds seem to carry the scent of smoke through the arid, dry air, making it almost tangible. As I watched these moving scenes unfold, I felt both great grief and a strong call to action.

  • Mon-01-2025
A Joint Statement from Chinese Christians: Against Persecution on Charges of Fraud (January 16, 2025, China Partnership)

There’s no question that, over the last few years, particularly since 2018 and the implementation of the “new religious regulations,” persecution in China has become more intense. One of the main forms this persecution has taken are charges of “fraud” against house church leaders because their unregistered churches accept tithes and offerings. Covenant Home Church is the case profiled in this joint statement, and is a good example of what is happening to believers who are facing these types of charges.

  • Mon-01-2025
Hong Kong unveils 10 most significant govt policies in 2024 (January 22, 2025, China Daily)

The historic legislation for Basic Law Article 23, aimed at safeguarding national security and ensuring Hong Kong's stability and development, has topped a list of the ten most significant policies by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government in 2024.