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Featured Article
The Little Town Making Nearly All of China’s Lanterns (March 3, 2026, BBC) In China, red lanterns could guide a traveller to safety in cold winter alleyways, be symbols of power outside an imperial hall, or act as a call to religious devotion when hung in a temple. They are also absolutely synonymous with lunar new year celebrations right across the vast country and link today’s Chinese people with the culture of their ancestors.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
What Is Shen Yun – the Chinese Dance Troupe that Received a Bomb Threat Causing the Evacuation of The Lodge? (February 25, 2026, The Guardian)
Yesterday’s evacuation of the prime minister from The Lodge has been linked to the Chinese dance troupe Shen Yun. In a bomb threat emailed to the group, the sender said explosives would be detonated if Australian performances by Shen Yun proceeded. This is just the latest controversy surrounding Shen Yun. But this use of a security threat as a prop to achieve other goals exposes a deeper and increasingly consequential struggle over culture, representation and political voice in the transnational Chinese world. At stake is not a dance performance, but a deeper question: who gets to represent “Chinese culture” on the global stage?
China’s Ice Cold Calculus Over Iran (subscription required) (March 2, 2026, The Economist)
When American and Israeli warplanes struck Iran this weekend, killing Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, China’s flagship nightly news programme covered the story with notable frankness. The basic facts were reported, clearly and promptly. Contrast that with what happened barely two months earlier, when massive protests erupted across the Islamic Republic. For the first two weeks, China’s newscasters said nothing. When they did eventually cover the unrest, they depicted the protesters as pawns of “external forces”.
“Two Sessions”: China Scraps a Decades-Long Political Tradition as Xi Tightens Control Amid Economic Woes (March 3, 2026, CNN) Thousands of delegates from across China are gathering in Beijing this week for the start of the country’s most prominent annual political event, where leaders will signal how they plan to steer the world’s second largest economy in the year ahead—and try to dispel deepening concern about the challenges it faces.
As US and Russia Unbind from Nuclear Treaty, China’s Arsenal has Been Growing (March 3, 2026, Christian Science Monitor)
As the United States and Russia navigate uncharted waters without a nuclear arms treaty, China’s nuclear buildup is like a storm mounting on the horizon. Beijing has dramatically multiplied its force since Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. China had held its stockpile steady at around 200 since the 1970s. Now, it contains more than 600 nuclear warheads and is projected to exceed 1,000 by 2030, according to a 2025 Pentagon report.
Religion
From Sojourner to Co-Laborer (February 20, 2026, ChinaSource)
Taiwan is currently at a critical moment of social transition. At present, the number of international students in Taiwan has exceeded 120,000. When combined with more than 800,000 migrant workers, the island is rapidly moving toward what may be described as an “immigrant society.” Hsu Chia-ching, Minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), has also pointed out that Taiwan is entering a new era marked by the interweaving and integration of diverse ethnic communities. Amid these profound social changes, the nations living in diaspora communities in Taiwan are precisely the harvest field that God Himself has brought to the doorstep of the Taiwanese church.
Shame Into Honor (February 26, 2026, China Partnership)
We have spent the last several months praying for the persecuted church in China. In this last interview in that series, the wife of a persecuted pastor shares how God is using her husband’s imprisonment to heal the scars of her past. Xu Jing says that, since childhood, she has borne the scars of shame that came from her father’s imprisonment. But now that her husband is in jail—even though it is difficult and sad—she sees how God is turning her former shame into honor as she rejoices that her husband has been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.
A Statue That Connected Hearts (March 3, 2026, ChinaSource)
When my four-month-old daughter, Kathryn, was placed in my arms, my heart became instantly connected to China through the miracle of adoption. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my heart would also soon be connected to the woman whose statue I had noticed in the entrance courtyard. Later that day, I asked our adoption facilitator whose statue it was. He told me, “Soong Qingling.”
Society / Life
Lunar New Year: Why, As a Chinese Woman, I Believe Washing Your Hair and Sweeping Is Bad Luck Today (February 18, 2026, The Independent)
With the lunar new year now upon us, there’s no better time than this festival to lean into your full Chinese selves and understand what this season requires of you, and what superstitions you may want to take on board. Growing up in a Chinese family in Singapore, my year was consistently marked by various traditional celebrations and rituals—and never more so at the start of the new year.
On 310 Yuan a Day, She Builds China’s Towers—and Streams the Struggle (February 25, 2026, Sixth Tone)
In the predawn darkness of a winter morning, wind whistles through the unfinished stories of a construction site in Xi’an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi province. Liu Yan, severely nearsighted, pushes up her glasses with the back of a dust-covered hand, leaving black smudges on her face. The 24-year-old female rodbuster stands among the scaffolding, her hands moving tirelessly as she ties rebar after rebar. Around her, the construction site is still sleeping.
Economics / Trade / Business
China Moves to Unite National Market to Curb Cut-Throat Competition at Home (February 24, 2026, MERICS)
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) leadership has elevated the creation of a “unified national market” from a technocratic slogan to a top-tier political priority—and the National People’s Congress (NPC) looks to set enshrine this goal in its 15th Five–Year Plan (FYP) in March. Policymakers are positioning themselves to cut the Gordion knot of national, regional and communal interests that has left China a jumble of dozens of provincial markets and hundreds of local ones—an economic patchwork at odds with a unitary political system.
Arts / Entertainment / Media
CDT’s “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for January 2026, Part Two (February 27, 2026, China Digital Times)
Below is Part Two of CDT’s summary of deleted content from January 2026. (Part One, included 21 deleted articles; Part Two, 19 articles; and Part Three, 14 articles.) Between January 1–31, CDT Chinese added 55 new articles, mostly from WeChat, to the archive. (One of the articles was voluntarily deleted by the account owner at the request of the person who contributed the article, and thus is not included in this summary.)
A Prize Against the Odds (March 2, 2026, China Media Project)
Over the weekend, the results of the seventh edition of the Journalists Home News Prize (记者的家新闻奖), a grassroots journalism awards initiative that has been affectionately called “China’s Pulitzers” (中国普利策), were published through the WeChat public account of veteran investigative journalist Liu Hu (刘虎). The release is remarkable considering Liu’s circumstances just a few short weeks earlier.
Science / Technology
China’s Next Cyber Crackdown (February 24, 2026, Foreign Policy – China Brief)
After changes to existing cybersecurity laws came into effect last month, China is considering sweeping new cybercrime legislation aimed at further tightening the country’s online environment. (As ever, I am indebted to Yale University’s China Law Translate project for drawing my attention to this.) Since the early 2000s, China has managed the difficult task of maintaining a closed, highly monitored internet that serves the country economically without threatening it politically. Though Westerners often focus on the Great Firewall as China’s primary means of limiting access to the outside world, its system of censorship and control is far more complicated.
From Red Envelopes to Robots: How AI Took Over China’s Spring Festival (February 25, 2026, ChinaSkinny)
The Lunar New Year festival that just passed is more than China’s biggest annual holiday and the world’s largest human migration. It’s also a high-stakes battleground for China’s tech titans to showcase their latest strategic priorities. The most famous example dates back to the last Year of the Horse in 2014, when Tencent used the holiday to push digital red envelopes and accelerate mobile payments adoption; a move Jack Ma famously described as a “Pearl Harbour attack.”
Why Wait? China Should Skip a Step in Self-Driving Cars, Xpeng Founder and CEO Says (March 2, 2026, South China Morning Post)
The head of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng said the country should accelerate the development of autonomous driving technology amid slowing sales growth in the sector. He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of the Guangzhou-based company, said on Monday that the country should skip an intermediate step and move directly to a more advanced version of autonomous capabilities, adding that Beijing should adjust regulations and policies faster to make this happen.
Education
China Mandates 15-minute Breaks Between School Classes (March 2, 2026, Sixth Tone)
China has extended mandatory breaks between classes for primary and secondary school students from 10 minutes to 15 nationwide, as authorities seek to ease student stress and improve health. The reform, announced Feb. 27 by the Ministry of Education, also reiterated a requirement that students receive at least two hours of physical education daily, a rule first introduced in 2024 after reports that some schools were canceling PE classes or manipulating timetables to prioritize academics.
Events
ChinaSource Connect Dinner in Dallas
Andrea Lee and Joann Pittman will be hosting a ChinaSource Connect Dinner in the Dallas area on Friday, March 13, 2026. If you are also in the Dallas area, please join us for an evening of food, fellowship, and hearing stories of what God is doing in China. Space is limited, so please RSVP early.
For details and registration, go here: https://signupforms.com/registrations/45501
Public Lecture: Christianity in China Beyond the Headlines (ChinaSource)
In this lecture, Joann Pittman will provide an introduction to the complexity of the church in China, moving beyond common headlines and narratives to look at key issues and challenges that Christians face today. This will include a historical overview of Christianity in China, as well as gospel-centered stories of what God is doing among his people despite the challenging social and political environment. Finally, we will consider lessons that Christians in the West can learn from Christians in China. (Joann Pittman is Vice President for Partnerships and China Engagement at ChinaSource)
Date: March 26, 2026
Time: 6:15 — light refreshments
7:00 — Lecture & Q&A
Location: Nazareth Hall, University of Northwestern— St. Paul
3003 Snelling Avenue North, Roseville, MN 55113
East Asian Christianity Conference: Christian Witness and Presence Among East Asian Religions (Gordon-Conwell Seminary)
As an annual gathering, this event brings scholars and practitioners together to engage comparative research on Christianity’s development and significance in East Asia, with implications for church ministry and mission today. The theme of this year’s conference is Christian witness and presence among East Asian religions. Church leaders from Asia and the West will come together to foster creative Christian discourse on outreach and leadership, drawing on current academic research and the lived experience of those in frontline ministry.
April 9–11, 2026
Hamilton, MA
China Christianity Studies Group Annual Meeting 2026 (Regent College – Vancouver)
The China Christianity Studies Group will hold its 2026 annual meeting on March 12 (PDT) / March 13 (CST), co-organized by Regent College and Trinity Western University. This year’s theme, “Contested Theologies, Hybrid Traditions: Chinese Christianities in Global Circulation,” examines how Chinese Christian thought has developed through global exchange. Speakers include Duanran Feng (Oxford), Easten Law (Yonsei), and Songzan Xu (Cambridge).
The event will be held in person at Regent College (Vancouver) and via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 999 3563 2885 | Passcode: 680891
Pray for China
March 7 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
On Mar. 7, 2007, Back to Jerusalem pioneer Zhao Maijia (赵麦加弟兄) went to be with the Lord. Zhao served the Lord in Xinjiang for over 60 years—many with his wife, He Enzheng (何恩证姊妹). After her death in 2009, their descendants cooperated with agricultural experts from Taiwan to build “Canaan Farm,” a modern agricultural demonstration farm in Kashgar that planned to employ young Uyghurs with the purpose of introducing them to the love of Jesus. Pray for Uyghurs in Xinjiang to experience God’s grace and salvation during the government’s harsh crackdown on all aspects of Uyghur culture. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Activating Prayer for China (February 23, 2026, ChinaSource)
Our family moved to China in the early years of the Reform and Opening Era. We were part of a business as mission multinational team in a major city. Some on our team had been born in China and were returning after many years away. Some had ancestors born in China and were moving there for the first time. More were lǎowài (老外, foreigner) with varying degrees of language competency. All on the team knew we would accomplish nothing without the Lord’s amazing grace.
A Call to Prayer as War Clouds Gather over the Middle East (March 2, 2026, ChinaSource)
At present, it is Ramadan in the Muslim world and Lent for Christians—a season that ought to be devoted to spiritual pursuit, prayer, and seeking God. Here, I invite brothers and sisters to join together during this Lenten season to keep watch and intercede for the Middle East and for Chinese brothers and sisters there.
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)