News that caught our eye / The week ending June 28, 2024
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NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
The Predicament of Young Pastors in Contemporary China / June 25, 2024
The Chinese church, as a whole, finds itself caught in a downward spiral of decline: dwindling numbers of seekers, shrinking congregations, and a weakening of believers’ spiritual vitality (ChinaSource).
Fear A Militarily Weak China / June 19, 2024
Is China’s military the juggernaut some imagine, or a paper tiger like Russia’s degraded armed forces? Either way, getting a definitive answer would be terrible for almost everyone (The Diplomat).
TikTok takes U.S. to court / June 21, 2024
In a legal brief filed on June 20, TikTok argued that the new law potentially banning the application from the United States is unconstitutional and should be overturned. President Biden signed the legislation into law in April. However, it could take years for the ban to go into effect due to legal challenges (NBC News).
China and Taiwan jockey for control over island / June 28, 224
China is attempting to normalize its increased incursions into the waters around the outlying Kinmen islands in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo has warned. He states that by stepping up its activities in the prohibited and restricted waters around Kinmen, China is trying to establish a new normal (Radio Free Asia).
China and Philippines clash over South China Sea / June 18, 2024
The White House condemned China on June 17 over what the Philippines called an "intentional high-speed ramming" by the Chinese Coast Guard of one of its resupply ships in the South China Sea. One Filipino sailor was seriously wounded in the collision. The Philippines and China accused each other of causing the confrontation. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "This kind of behavior [by China] is provocative, it's reckless, it's unnecessary, and it could lead to… something much bigger and much more violent" (CBS News).
Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations? The United States Should Take Primary Responsibility / June 2024
Early in June, National Security Council senior director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation, Pranay Vaddi, warned that China’s growing nuclear weapons stockpile may require “an increase from current deployed numbers” of U.S. nuclear weapons. In reply, China maintains it “is far from being on par with the U.S. and Russia…. China has maintained its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level as required for national security, not seeking nuclear parity or engaging in a nuclear arms race with any nuclear-armed country” (Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America, Washington, D.C.).
Xi defends China's 'normal trade' with Russia / June 24, 2024
President Xi Jinping defended China's trade ties with Russia during a meeting with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Beijing on June 24, 2024. Xi said China's position on the war in Ukraine was unchanged - to push for peace talks and seek a political settlement to the crisis, according to state broadcaster CCTV. "China opposes the attempt by some people using the normal trade between China and Russia as an excuse to smear China and divert conflicts," Xi said (South China Morning Post).
China’s Chang’e-6 moon mission / June 25, 2024
China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module returned to Earth on June 25 after successfully completing its historic mission to collect the first-ever samples from the far side of the moon. A livestream carried by CCTV showed the module touching down via parachute to a round of applause in the mission control room China’s northern Inner Mongolia region. “The Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,” said Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), from the control room (CNN).
Correction: Chinese textbook did not misquote John 8:3–11 / May 27, 2024
In 2020, news about a Chinese vocational school book falsifying the biblical account of John 8:3–11 circulated on the internet. China Source reports that that account falsely reported that China had attempted to alter the Bible’s lesson on Jesus stoning a woman who was discovered during an act of adultery (China Source).
Dealing With a China in Decline / June 7, 2024
China’s rapid rise is slowing down. This article from The Diplomat explores how China and the rest of the world are adjusting to the shrinking of the globe’s second-largest economy (The Diplomat).
The influence of Hong Kong’s gray media / June 16, 2024
Hong Kong’s five gray media outlets claim to offer an independent, nonpartisan voice, but they “echo governmental talking points and coordinate to produce collaborative content across popular social media channels…. Gray media outlets in Hong Kong incorporate legal and cognitive warfare tactics to support Beijing’s political agenda (The Jamestown Foundation).
China accused of changing names of villages / June 20, 2024
China has changed the names of hundreds of villages in Xinjiang region in a move aimed at erasing Uyghur Muslim culture, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. According to a report by the group, hundreds of villages in Xinjiang with names related to the religion, history, or culture of Uyghurs were replaced between 2009 and 2023. Uyghurs in Xinjiang have endured oppressive government oversight for many years (BBC).
U.S. and China hold first informal nuclear talks in five years / June 21, 2024
The United States and China have resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks after a five-year hiatus, A pressing concern is nuclear engagement over Beijing's claim on Taiwan (Reuters).
The dirt on China, Indonesia, and car batteries / June 17, 2024
Nickel mining in Indonesia is key to producing electric car batteries. It has brought a “gold rush” to the country. It has also brought ecological damage, health harm, and fatal accidents (Bloomberg video).