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Featured Article
Will China’s Social Volcano Erupt?—with Martin Whyte (February 4, 2026, Peking Hotel)
Prof. Martin Whyte is a prominent American sociologist and Professor Emeritus of Sociology and International Studies at Harvard University. Prof. Whyte is widely recognized as one of the leading scholars on contemporary Chinese society, with a specific focus on social inequality, the rural-urban divide, and family structures in the People’s Republic of China. Prof. Whyte has traveled to China for over five decades, and was among the earliest American sociologists on PRC soil even when the subject of sociology was still officially banned. In the years of US-China engagement, he helped resurrect the discipline of sociology from the abyss of the Cultural Revolution, and pioneered the field through conducting novel survey research, training students, and building academic collaboration with counterparts in China.
I was lucky to interview him at his house in the suburb of DC in 2024, when he generously shared his life and academic evolution with me.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
CHINA Town Hall 2026 (April 7, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
CHINA Town Hall (CTH), a program that provides a snapshot of the current US-China relationship and examines how that relationship reverberates at the local level—in our towns, states, and nation—connects people around the country with US policymakers and thought leaders on China. Since CTH launched in 2007, the National Committee has proudly partnered with a range of institutions and civic groups, colleges and universities, trade and business associations, world affairs councils and think tanks to convene town halls and bring this important national conversation to local communities around America (and a few overseas).
China Has Mapped Out a Third New County in Xinjiang. Why? (April 10, 2026, South China Morning Post)
China has established a third new county in its Xinjiang region, this time along vital transport routes linking the country to South and Central Asia. Analysts said the move underscored Beijing’s focus on governance and security along its far-flung western borders.
Sitting in southwestern Xinjiang near the Karakoram Range, Cenling county is a linchpin for China’s frontier security and regional development.
Religion
Eight Things to Know about Christian in China (December 24, 2025, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
The latest wave of religious repression in China represents the most aggressive internal clampdowns in years. Catholic bishops appointed by the Vatican have been disappeared, despite a deal allegedly giving the Vatican input in proposing Chinese bishops. Protestant house churches face constant surveillance and sweeping raids. New religious regulations give Chinese police increased power to monitor speech, belief, and religious thought. These moves are not isolated, they reflect Xi Jinping’s drive to “Sinicize” Christianity—to require Chinese Christians to support and spread the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. Here are eight things to know about Christians in China.
Xiangtan: Bigger Troubles, Deeper Faith (April 9, 2026, China Partnership)
Xiangtan is a city of 3 million in Hunan Province, in south-central China. Xiangtan is famous throughout China for being the hometown of Mao Zedong. Local pastors tell us that, although ministry and evangelism are difficult these days, persecution has deepened the faith of believers in their congregations.
Remembering Rev. Joseph Tong (April 10, 2026, ChinaSource)
Rev. Joseph Tong (唐崇懷; Tong Tjong Hway), PhD, a Chinese pastor, theological educator, and mentor to many, passed away on March 24, 2026, in Los Angeles at the age of 85. Over the course of his life, his ministry extended across Greater China, Southeast Asia, and the global Chinese church, leaving a lasting imprint on theological education and church leadership.
Faith and Controversy In a Time of Political Upheaval (April 14, 2026, ChinaSource)
In the early 1950s, Chinese Protestantism entered one of the most painful and decisive periods in its modern history. As the new Communist regime consolidated power, churches were drawn into a sweeping political campaign that demanded not only patriotic loyalty but also theological and institutional realignment. In this setting, the conflict between K. H. Ting (丁光訓) and Wang Mingdao (王明道) became one of the most consequential debates in modern Chinese Christianity.
Society / Life
Will China’s Social Volcano Erupt?—with Martin Whyte (February 4, 2026, Peking Hotel)
Prof. Martin Whyte is a prominent American sociologist and Professor Emeritus of Sociology and International Studies at Harvard University. Prof. Whyte is widely recognized as one of the leading scholars on contemporary Chinese society, with a specific focus on social inequality, the rural-urban divide, and family structures in the People’s Republic of China. Prof. Whyte has traveled to China for over five decades, and was among the earliest American sociologists on PRC soil even when the subject of sociology was still officially banned. In the years of US-China engagement, he helped resurrect the discipline of sociology from the abyss of the Cultural Revolution, and pioneered the field through conducting novel survey research, training students, and building academic collaboration with counterparts in China.
I was lucky to interview him at his house in the suburb of DC in 2024, when he generously shared his life and academic evolution with me.
The Chinese Restaurant That “Didn’t Want Fame” and the Internet That Wouldn’t Listen (April 8, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Located in Foshan City in the southern Guangdong province, the restaurant—“Mo’s Chicken Hotpot”—became popular after food blogger and former TV host Liu Yuxin posted the video to multiple domestic streaming platforms on April 1. In the clip, the owner says, “Don’t make me too popular; I won’t be able to handle the business.”
China’s First DINK Generation Is Growing Old (April 13, 2026, Sixth Tone)
For the first time, she found herself relying on her 75-year-old husband, Shi Mingao, for the basic tasks of daily life—getting dressed, washing up, even opening a bottle cap. “Will I become paralyzed?” she remembers thinking. More than the pain, Bao fears dependence and becoming a burden. She is part of China’s first generation of so-called DINK couples, short for “double income, no kids”—people who grew old without children in a society where marriage was long expected to lead to parenthood, and children to care for aging parents.
China’s Pension Failings Expose Its Harshest Inequality (subscription required) (April 13, 2026, The Economist)
The morning commute on line four of the Chongqing subway is, as anywhere, full of workers rushing onto the train and going downtown. But there is a crucial difference. The workers are not destined for offices. They are farmers carrying large baskets laden with beans, tomatoes, and more as they head to markets. It is a scene that illustrates one of China’s marvels: a sparkling subway that links the countryside to the city. Alas, it also illustrates one of China’s glaring gaps: pitiful pensions that leave many rural elderly with no choice but to toil.
Economics / Trade / Business
China’s Economic Sanctions Against Japan: An Assessment (April 9, 2026, The Diplomat)
On February 24, 2026, China placed twenty Japanese companies on its Entity List. This move marked a significant shift in China’s posture: Having previously sought to keep Japan’s security status deliberately ambiguous, Beijing has now explicitly designated Japan a country of security concern and publicly identified specific firms it views as threats. By framing the measure under the national security exceptions recognized by the WTO framework, China has made it considerably more difficult for Japan to establish a clear trade rule violation.
Education
Is It Possible to Be an Independent Scholar in China Today? (April 9, 2026, Made in China Journal)
At the end of 2024, as my postdoctoral appointment at a Chinese university was ending, I found myself at a professional crossroads. During the previous two years, based in mainland China as an anthropologist, I had experienced at first hand the constraints that institutional academia imposes on writing and public speaking. This led me to consider an unconventional path: becoming an independent scholar. It was not an easy decision, because in anthropology there has scarcely been any recognized space for independent scholars.
Science / Technology
A Hacker Has Allegedly Breached One of China’s Supercomputers and Is Attempting to Sell a Trove of Stolen Data (April 7, 2026, CNN)
An account calling itself FlamingChina posted a sample of the alleged dataset on an anonymous Telegram channel on February 6, claiming it contained “research across various fields including aerospace engineering, military research, bioinformatics, fusion simulation and more.” The group alleges the information is linked to “top organizations” including the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, and the National University of Defense Technology.
The Enthusiasm and Anxiety Behind China’s OpenClaw Craze (April 8, 2026, Sixth Tone)
Last month, an image shot across Chinese social media that neatly captured the country’s uneasy relationship with technology…The image captured how AI has become commonplace enough in China to be the subject of viral memes, but also how it has divided society between those who use it because they believe the technology is a useful creative tool and those who use it because they are anxious about being left behind.
2 Years On: China’s “Desert Wheat Farms” Show the Seeds of Success (April 10, 2026, South China Morning Post)
China’s “desert wheat farms” have survived repeated sandstorms and continue to grow following an initial trial in the country’s largest desert, as part of an ongoing effort to combat desertification and unlock the land’s potential for strengthening national food security. Two years ago, on the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China launched an unprecedented project to plant wheat in sand.
Documents Raise Fear of Further Crackdown on Great Firewall Circumvention Tools (April 12, 2026, China Digital Times)
A group of documents recently circulating online has stoked apprehension about a new wave of pressure on tools used to circumvent China’s Great Firewall. One memo, from online services provider Qihang CDN, warns that based on directions from its own upstream service provider, Shaanxi Telecom, business customers may not use Qihang’s infrastructure to make international data connections.
History / Culture
The 3,000-Year-Old Poetry Collection That’s Still Alive (April 8, 2026, World of Chinese)
The Classic of Poetry is the foundation of Chinese realist poetryand has deeply shaped the country’s literary landscape. Today, many of its lines remain familiar, with some becoming everyday idioms. But how did the collection come to be? Why are folk songs central to its contents? And how does it live on in daily speech?
Sweeping the Ancestors Aside (April 8, 2026, China Media Project)
Early Sunday morning, as China’s national anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” blared across the granite plaza of Longhua Martyrs Cemetery in Shanghai, honor guards marched in lockstep toward a tomb commemorating Communist martyrs executed nearly a century ago. Nearby, a group of Young Pioneers, the Chinese Communist Party organization for primary school-aged children, recited “Ode to the Green Pine,” a lyric poem standard at Party youth events, its imagery of pines standing unbowed through the cold of winter a tribute, borrowed from ancient aesthetic traditions, to the unyielding spirit of revolutionary martyrs—and to the Party’s unbending resolve.
What’s Driving China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Boom? (April 10, 2026, The World of Chinese)
After the style fell out of fashion around the 1930s, diancui was on the brink of disappearing, leaving antique pieces to gather dust in museums for decades after. Over the past 25 years, however, a nationwide revival of interest in traditional arts and crafts has brought it back to life. Artisans have since adapted the style to incorporate eco-friendly materials and expanded designs from classic motifs to modern looks, even incorporating internet memes to appeal to younger audiences.
From Revival to Erasure: Ebbs and Flows of Judaism in Kaifeng (April 14, 2026, Made in China Journal)
Today, there are no physical markers in the city of Kaifeng, Henan Province, that would suggest the presence of Jews. But the story of Judaism in Kaifeng remains well known among Jewish people around the world. In an era when Ashkenazi Jews have been absorbed into Western whiteness, lost cultural and linguistic distinctiveness, and become basically indistinguishable from their neighbours, the utterance of ‘Chinese Jews’ in conversation serves as a point of pride; we Jews were even in China and there we thrived, for a time.
Events
ChinaSource Connect
Join us for ChinaSource Connect, a virtual gathering to hear timely updates on the church in China, engage in informed prayer, and connect with a global community. The event includes guided prayer and optional breakout discussions.
Date: Thursday, April 30
Time: 7:00 PM (Central Time)
Location: Hosted on Zoom
To Register for ChinaSource Connect, click HERE
You are welcome to submit questions in advance to [email protected].
Online Book Club (ERRC)
The next book for ERRC’s online book club discussion will be Other Rivers: A Chinese Education, by Peter Hessler. More than two decades after teaching English during the early part of China’s economic boom, an experience chronicled in his book River Town, Peter Hessler returned to Sichuan Province to instruct students from the next generation. At the same time, Hessler and his wife enrolled their twin daughters in a local state-run elementary school, where they were the only Westerners. Over the years, Hessler had kept in close contact with many of the people he had taught in the 1990s. By reconnecting with these individuals—members of China’s “Reform generation,” now in their forties—while teaching current undergrads, Hessler gained a unique perspective on China’s incredible transformation.
The discussion will be facilitated by Joann Pittman from ChinaSource. Grab the book and start reading today! Check back in this space and at the ERRC website for more details and a registration link.
Date: Wednesday, May 13
Time: 5PM PDT / 8PM ED.
Conference: Nourishing Trust and Friendship: Following the Way of Christ (United States – China Catholic Association)
Join us for the 30th Biennial Conference of the US-China Catholic Association.
Dates: July 31–August 2, 2026
Location: University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX
Pray for China
April 17 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On Apr. 17, 1851, Dr. Leonora Howard King (郝尔德) was born in Canada. She spent 47 years as a medical missionary in China. In 1879, she was invited by Dr. John Mackenzie to provide treatment for the seriously ill wife of Tianjin’s governor, Li Hongzhang (李鸿章). Dr. King’s success resulted in years of government favor towards Christian missionary work in Tianjin. In 1885, she opened a medical school for Chinese women, and the following year the governor’s wife built a new hospital for Dr. King to use to treat women and children. Pray for Christian doctors in Tianjin to be channels of the Lord’s mercy.
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant…Matthew 20:26
Activating Prayer for China (February 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Prayer 2026: Off the Beaten Path (January 1, 2026, China Partnership)
Praying Through the ChinaSource Journal (October 13, 2025, ChinaSource)
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)