Featured Article
Swallowing the Dictionary: Bao, Boba, and the English Appetite for Chinese Words (October 22, 2026, The World of Chinese)
Once upon a time, an English speaker may have pointed at a steamer basket and asked for a stuffed bun. Today, they are more likely to ask for a bao. If they are waiting for a drink with chewy pearls, they may well call it boba, though some still refer to it as bubble tea. These words moved from restaurant menus into everyday speech, and now they have arrived where English keeps its official records: the dictionary.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
Red Tourism (October 8, 2026, China Media Project)
“Red tourism” (红色旅游) is an initiative born out of the Party’s need to unify the country around patriotism and nationalism, providing a connection to the country’s revolutionary “culture and heritage” while driving development and economic growth in rural areas. Xi Jinping has emphasized red tourism’s importance to patriotic education and renewed the push to develop revolutionary sites under ambitious development plans, and through outward-facing diplomatic cooperation.
China Monitor #8 (October 22, 2026, Congressional-Executive Commission on China)
The China Monitor is a publication to keep Members of Congress and the public informed about critical human rights and legal developments in China. This issue contains information regarding recent law developments and other critical human rights issues across China.
The Global Cost of Ignoring Xinjiang (October 21, 2026, ChinaFile)
In the years following 2017, when evidence of mass arbitrary detention in China’s Uyghur region began reaching the outside world, a broad coalition responded. Civil society mobilized, governments passed genocide resolutions, the UN launched an investigation, and corporations faced legal exposure over tainted supply chains. In 2026, that energy has largely dissipated. Governments that once spoke plainly about conditions in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang, known to Uyghurs as East Turkistan) now say little, or nothing at all.
Can China Turn National Power into World Leadership? (October 21, 2026, South China Morning Post)
Our latest projections of national strength for 2027 take into account resources, territory, economic strength and military power. They still put China in first place, with its lead over other countries widening. But when might China move beyond leading the ranking to exert decisive influence over the world’s trouble spots and become a global arbiter? (subscription may be required)
The Struggle Over What China Wants (October 21, 2026, East Asia Forum)
Expert consensus on what China wants, then, is unlikely to emerge anytime soon. To advance the quest to gauge what China wants, scholars need to examine not only the evidence about China but also the power dynamics through which knowledge about China is produced.
China’s big political meeting could see Xi ‘tighten discipline’ in party (October 25, 2026, BBC)
China’s political leaders and elites began a four-day meeting Monday to discuss strengthening the ruling Communist Party’s discipline, as Chinese President Xi Jinping pushes for greater loyalty and reliability from officials while deepening his yearslong campaign against corruption. This week’s closed-door gathering, known as the fifth plenum of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, comes roughly a year before Xi is widely expected to secure his fourth five-year term as the party’s leader and personnel changes to key leadership bodies.
New Zealand’s Two-Track China Policy (October 27, 2026, Between Giants, via Substack)
New Zealand’s foreign policy has for decades been based on a political consensus around making independent decisions and supporting the rules-based international order and multilateral system. Ahead of the hotly contested November 7 general election, however, and amid a rapidly deteriorating geopolitical environment, that consensus is being tested like seldom before.
Religion
The Great Commission Global Risk (October 21, 2026, ChinaSource)
In the closing plenary of the Missio Nexus 2026 Mission Leaders Conference (September 26) Dr. Ted Esler, summarized the findings of Missio’s yearlong research into the challenges the global church is facing in the ministry of discipling the nations that Jesus called us to in Matthew 28:18-20.
Qiqihar: What Makes It Unique? (October 22, 2026, China Partnership)
Qiqihar, a city of four to five million in northeastern China, was originally home to nomadic herdsmen and people from the Manchu, Daur, and Mongolian people groups. These days, the city is mostly Han Chinese, and is famous for its food and nature. Qiqihar has a history dating back to the Qing Dynasty. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, it was often used as a place of exile for convicted criminals. In the early 1900s, completed railway lines made the city a hub for connection and communication between China and Russia. With extreme winters and a struggling economy, Qiqihar is not an easy place to live, and many of its young people have left to find a better life elsewhere. This is also true in local house churches, which are struggling to raise up a new generation of Christian leaders.
More Than a Place of Worship (October 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Wǒmen dōu shì yì jiā rén (我們都是一家人)—“We are all one family.” It is a sentence I have heard again and again in Chinese churches in Germany. It may sound like a familiar Christian expression. For many migrants, however, it describes something very concrete.
The Legacy of Song of a Wanderer (October 26, 2026, ChinaSource)
On the first weekend of October 2026, I traveled to Milwaukee to attend the annual missions conference at the Chinese Christian Church of Milwaukee, where I spoke on diaspora mission. I had many opportunities to talk with the church’s pastors and ministry leaders. Again and again, our conversations turned to Pastor Bingcheng Feng, who had gone home to be with the Lord on July 21, 2026, and we gave thanks to God for his life.
What Do We Mean When We Say “the Chinese Church”? (October 27, 2026, ChinaSource)
For a long time, Chinese had felt like a remarkably safe word for me to use. Its ambiguity was part of what made it useful: I could use it without having to specify much. But this year, I had begun to see how differently the same word could function in different settings, and how often I had relied on its ambiguity to sidestep difficult questions. I could no longer keep doing that.
Society / Life
Trial by Social Media? The Boundaries of Feminist Teaching in China (October 20, 2026, The Diplomat)
On September 29, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) announced the dismissal of a teacher surnamed Pei, widely identified in reporting as law school assistant professor Pei Yi. The university canceled her eligibility to supervise graduate students, revoked her eligibility to hold a teaching position at BIT, and terminated her employment. The university said a special working group had investigated allegations against Pei and found serious violations of teachers’ professional ethics and codes of conduct. Its public statement did not specify the conduct or disclose the supporting evidence.
In Stitches: Why Young Chinese Are Buying Clothes They Can Throw Away (October 23, 2026, Sixth Tone)
For her vacation to China’s southern province of Hainan during this year’s weeklong National Day holiday, Chang Yajie bought five new pieces of clothing: a beach skirt, a floral halter top, a straw hat, a swimsuit, and a pair of loose rainbow pants. She wore them all on the trip, relishing taking photos in her new outfit on the resort-laden island’s beaches and posting them to social media. But when she got home, she stuffed the clothes into her trash can.
‘Zero-Energy Companionship’: Bizarre Hobby Takes Seed among China’s Stressed Young Adults (October 26, 2026, The Guardian)
Raising “brick babies” is easier than caring for house plants, involving spraying them with water a few times a day then waiting for moss spores already present in the atmosphere to attach themselves and grow. One Chinese media article described the bricks as being “practically immortal”. “If you forget to water them, the moss goes dormant. If you remember to water them again, the greenery returns.”
Economics / Trade / Business
No Order, No Seat: Starbucks China Rolls Out New Store Policy (October 21, 2026, BBC)
Taking a seat at a Starbucks in China? Just make sure you’re also ordering something there. A new policy by Starbucks China takes effect across all its 8,000 stores on Thursday, making it mandatory for people to purchase items if they want to sit in its cafes. Starbucks China said the move was part of efforts to improve the “in-store experience” for customers. The company is facing stiff competition from homegrown brands such as Luckin Coffee.
History / Culture
China Wants to Revive the Spirit of the Long March (subscription required) (October 22, 2026, The Economist)
It is a story of “perseverance, solidarity and hope”. So claims an English-language documentary released by China’s state media this month to mark the 90th anniversary of the official end of the Long March: the famously gruelling retreat by embattled Communists during China’s civil war. The two foreign presenters of the series retrace small sections of the thousands of miles the Communist Party covered, spouting platitudes along the way. “Not only did we see history, we also saw the future,” says one, marvelling at the skyscrapers and data centres that have sprouted in the once-remote regions the Red Army marched through. “There will always be people marching on the road to hope,” sighs the other, in the last episode.
Language / Language Learning
China Has No ‘Aesthetics’ (October 8, 2026, Old North Whale Review, via Substack)
Aesthetics is translated as meixue (美学) in modern Chinese. Yet neither the word nor the concept existed in classical Chinese. It was first introduced in the early twentieth century, borrowed from Japanese kanji translations of German philosophy.
Science / Technology
The Most Important People in the US-China AI Competition (October 23, 2026, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
The pool of top AI talent is limited, but they play a crucial role in building this transformational technology. More than half of the world’s top AI researchers come from China, but not all of them stay there. In 2022, 46% of top global AI talent was working in the United States and 27% in China, but by 2025 that changed to 34% in the United States and 41% in China. What can the United States do to attract and keep top AI researchers?
Arts / Entertainment / Media
At China’s Biggest Studio Complex, Tourists Pay to Play the Lead (October 21, 2026, Sixth Tone)
At China’s largest film and television production base, veteran director Zheng Zhongfu was taking his two leads through a confrontation between a prince and his wronged wife. “In my previous life, you gouged out my heart and left me to die in the wilderness,” he recited, showing them how to deliver the line and where to look. “In this life, I will take back everything that belongs to me.” Qi Kexin and his wife listened closely. But once the cameras rolled, they caught each other’s eye and burst into laughter, forcing Zheng to call cut. Again.
A Symphony of Rock Brings the 29th Beijing Music Festival to a Grand Finale (October 21, 2026, The World of Chinese)
From a modern production of Mozart’s most famous opera to a rock-fueled finale, the 29th Beijing Music Festival brought together classical and contemporary sounds. Here are some of this year’s highlights.
Who Hits the Brakes on Negative Public Opinion? (October 22, 2026, China Media Project)
A controversy over a faulty brake pedal may seem far removed from the issue of media and censorship. But within 24 hours, the video had disappeared from Chinese platforms such as Bilibili, and several related online posts and reports had vanished too. Viewers on WeChat Video were informed the video could not be played due to an unspecified “violation.” The case prompted discussion of the benefits and limits of consumer reporting in China—a vibrant consumer society with some of the world’s strictest controls on information.
Events
Fall Public Lecture (China Academic Consortium)
“How Chinese Christians Saved America’s Soul,” by Timothy Tseng, PhD. During the period of extreme anti-Chinese in U.S. history, most Americans used the “heathen” label to justify discriminatory laws and violently attack and drive out Chinese migrants from Western towns. Yet, Protestants were among the very few Americans who defended the Chinese. This stalk will explore how Chinese Christians in the North American diaspora, along with white American missionaries, resisted the anti-Chinese movement on the basis of their Christian faith. In doing so, they changed American Protestant ideas about race, missions, the social gospel, and immigration policy. Indeed, by shifting the direction of 20th century American Protestantism, Chinese Christians helped rescue American’s soul. Dr. Tseng is Director of Asian American Christian History Institute, Research Professor of the History of Christianity and Asian American Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary.
Date: November 14, 20226
Time: 5-8PM
Location: Calvin Room, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 2407 Dana St.
Free light meal and beverages served 5-6PM.
For more information and/or to register, email [email protected]
Online Book Club (ERRChina and ChinaSource)
On December 9, we will discuss the book Builders of the Chinese Church: Pioneer Missionaries and Chinese Church Leaders, by G. Wright Doyle. “Builders of the Chinese Church contains the stories of nine leading pioneers–seven missionaries and two Chinese. Here we meet Robert Morrison, the heroic translator; Liang Fa, the first Chinese evangelist; missionary-scholar James Legge; J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission; converted opium addict Pastor Hsi (“Overcomer of Demons”); Griffith John and Jonathan Goforth, both indefatigable preachers; and the idealistic advocates of education and reform, W. A. P. Martin and Timothy Richard. Readers will be inspired by their courage, devotion, and sheer perseverance in arduous work, and will gain an understanding of the roots of the two “branches” of today’s Chinese Protestantism.” Bonus: Author G. Wright Doyle will join the discussion to give deeper insight and answer your questions.
Date: December 9, 2026
Time: 5pm PST / 6pm MST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST (U.S.)
Location: Zoom
Registration link: https://www.errchina.com/book-club
Pray for China
October 30 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On October 30, 1948, Bian Yunbo (边云波弟兄) finished writing his epic poem To the Unknown Evangelist, My Brother—just a few days before going to serve as a missionary among the Miao people in southwestern China. Later this poem was put to music and inspired many to dedicate their lives to Christ and His Great Commission. Bian, his wife Bai Yaoxuan (白耀轩姊妹), and their three children suffered great persecution for many years in Tianjin. In 1998, Brother Bian wrote: “Perhaps the revival in the Chinese and overseas church today is God’s preparation for an even greater revival. Let us ask the Lord to once again raise up a people who love Him as did Gideon’s 300, to take up their wonderful staffs and run the final lap of the race.” His health was not good in later years, but still Brother Bian spoke before many churches and conferences before going to be with the Lord at age 93 on February 14, 2018. Pray for the three children of Brother Bian and Sister Bai, and for those they impacted in Tianjin and elsewhere to take up the cross daily and follow the Lord Jesus. And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
From Deep Thinking to Deep Prayer (July 21, 2026, ChinaSource)
Prayer 2026: Off the Beaten Path (January 1, 2026, China Partnership)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)