My Neighbors Aren’t Ninevites (February 14, 2025, Christianity Today) (Subscription required)
The Book of Jonah offers a clarion call for peacemaking between believers from Hong Kong and China. Chinese churches in Britain are currently experiencing explosive growth. Yet this positive perception of Chinese church growth in Britain is a fragile bubble that could pop at any time, as divisions between Hong Kongers and mainland Chinese believers persist.
In Hong Kong, One Pastor Ministers to a Gen Z Protester in Prison (January 10, 2025, Christianity Today) (Subscription required)
Amid high rates of depression and anxiety among young people, Christian leaders boost efforts to address mental health challenges.
EXPLAINED: Why March is a sensitive month for Tibetans (March 21, 2025, Radio Free Asia)
Beijing has intensified security and surveillance measures across Tibet, conducting inspections and holding provincial, county and township level meetings to issue strict directives to take action to “win the stability battle” in March.
China-MENA Relations in a Changing World Order and Green Transition (March 20, 2025, Danish Institute for International Studies)
China's economic and diplomatic relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have significantly increased over the past two decades. This relationship extends beyond trade in oil and gas to include a wide range of initiatives and projects in infrastructure, defense, technology, and green transition.
Freedoms wither in Hong Kong (March 21, 2025, Radio Free Asia)
One year after the enactment of a harsh national security law, citizens whose rights have been under attack for more than a decade find themselves even further away from democracy.
China’s cynicism offensive in Asia (March 20, 2025, The Economist) (Subscription required)
At negotiations last month in Jakarta on a deal to ease tensions in the South China Sea, the leader of the Chinese delegation opened by quoting Henry Kissinger: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy,” he told his counterparts, “but it is fatal to be its friend.” Kissinger’s words, at the height of the Vietnam war, were taken out of context—
Why Hong Kong’s baby crisis reflects our universal fear of life’s impermanence (March 16, 2025, Dimsum Daily)
The question of why we continue to bring new life into an impermanent world has taken on particular urgency in Hong Kong, where birth rates have plummeted to a staggering 0.9 children per woman in 2022 – among the lowest globally. Yet this crisis isn’t merely about demographics; it’s a mirror reflecting our deepest existential anxieties about life, death, and the meaning we create in between.
Asean is a gold mine just waiting to be tapped (March 12, 2025, The Standard)
The SAR is unquestionably trying to unlock the potential of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations market, which has 34 percent of its population aged between 15 and 34, meaning a large pool of workers and consumers.
Hong Kong Budget 2025-26: What Businesses Need to Know (February 27, 2025, China Briefing)
Hong Kong Budget 2025-26 represents a forward-looking strategy designed to secure the city’s economic and social future. With a strong emphasis on fiscal sustainability, strategic investment in public services, and robust measures to stimulate economic recovery, the Budget 2025-26 sets the foundation for a resilient and competitive Hong Kong.
China’s dwindling marriage rate is fuelling demand for brides trafficked from abroad (March 14, 2025, The Conversation)
Unable to find a domestic spouse, some Chinese men have turned to “purchasing” foreign brides. The growing demand for these brides, particularly in rural areas, has fuelled a rise in illegal marriages. This includes marriages involving children and women who have been trafficked into China primarily from neighbouring countries in south-east Asia.
AsiaBriefs, produced in partnership with ChinaSource, is a place for you to catch up on news items and analysis from around Asia that you might have missed. It is a curated list of links from published online sources. Clicking a link will take you to a website other than Asia Congress or ChinaSource. Neither Asia Congress nor ChinaSource is responsible for the content or other features on that site. Further, an article’s inclusion does not equal an endorsement. Links to China stories are from ZGBriefs, a weekly publication of ChinaSource that highlights important news and analysis from China. You can read the complete, unabbreviated version of ZGBriefs at ChinaSource, and subscribe to receive it by email every Thursday.
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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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