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 of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
Today is chu-san, the third day of the new lunar year. China is essentially closed since everyone gets at least a 7-day holiday and many will be gone from their jobs or schools for a month or more. To give you a feel for how the holiday is being celebrated, here’s a round-up of some interesting articles that have been published recently.
Over the past few months there have been numerous articles and posts written about the new Foreign NGO Law. We have been trying to keep you updated on new developments through this blog and ZGBriefs, but we thought it would be helpful to compile the resources (so far) in one place.
The new Foreign NGO Law requires approval from a “Professional Supervisory Unit” or “Chinese Partner” in order to conduct activities in China. So what's the difference between them?
On Sunday, January 1 China’s new law governing foreign NGOs in China went into effect. The good folks at China Development Brief have put together a helpful infographic covering the basic information about the law.
When Joann discovered a 150-year-old American bell hanging in a church in southwest China, she knew there was a story to tell. This book is a collection of stories about this and other bells from France, Germany, Russia and the United States. But more importantly, they are stories of God’s faithfulness to his church in China.
It’s time for our annual look back at the most popular posts on our From the West Courtyard blog in 2016. Here is what you, our readers, particularly liked this past year:
With only 12 day before the implementation of the new Foreign NGO Law, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has finally released a list of the professional supervisory units (PSU) for foreign NGOs seeking registration.
Implementation of China’s new Foreign NGO Management Law is now only two weeks away and much confusion remains.
A ChinaSource 3 Questions interview with Hannah Lau, a non-profit marketing consultant and the author of Wherever You Go: A Conversation about Life, Faith, and Courage.
On January 1, 2017, China’s new Foreign NGO Management Law will go into effect, changing the landscape for foreign individuals and organizations working in China. At ChinaSource we are working hard to monitor the situation and track new developments. While there is still much that is unknown about the implementation of the law, some new documents have been released that begin to address this question.
The good folks at the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University recently published the results of a survey they conducted among Chinese university students. If you are working with Chinese students in the United States, it is a must-read.
Fifteen years ago, a Chinese writer who goes by the name of Huo Shui, wrote an article for the ChinaSource Quarterly called "Keys to Effectiveness in an Ever-Changing China." While China has continued to change, the things he talked about have stood the test of time. Or, as a friend of mine used to say, “things are the same, only more so.”