Featured Article
Pastors and Staff from Underground Church Are Arrested in China (October 13, 2025, NPR)
Christian pastor and father of US citizens along with dozens of church staff and members have been arrested in China amid a crackdown, his daughter and the church say. Ezra Jin, founder and pastor of Zion Church, a large “underground house church” with congregations across China, was arrested Friday while at his home in Beihai in the country’s Guangxi region, his daughter Grace Jin Drexel told NPR.
Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs
China’s New K-Visa for Young Tech Talent Is Not a Surefire Winner (October 8, 2025, China Bystander)
Since the start of this month, China has offered a new visa category for young science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. The introduction of the K visa comes as the US government increases the cost for US companies to hire high-skilled overseas workers by imposing a $100,000 fee for its H-1B visa for skilled workers.
China’s Global Leadership: The Southeast Asian Test (October 9, 2025, The Diplomat)
Southeast Asia is vital for China. Well-known international relations scholar Yan Xuetong has stated that the region will develop economically, politically, and militarily in the future, surpassing other neighboring areas. But for the same reason, the United States aims to contain China by increasing its presence in the region. Thus, Southeast Asia is a key battleground in the rivalry between the US and China.
China Curbs Rare Earth Exports Raising Stakes Before Trump-Xi Talks (October 10, 2025, NPR)
China processes around 90% of the world’s rare earths, which are critical inputs in everything from smartphones to advanced fighter jets. Beijing has used its dominance in rare earths to apply pressure to the United States as trade friction intensified this year following Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs.
Just a Number: China Eases Age Restrictions on Civil Service (October 14, 2025, Sixth Tone)
For years, 35 was typically the cutoff age for anyone seeking to be a civil servant in China. Now that’s changing, as the country works to curb age discrimination amid extended university programs and postponed retirement. China’s central government has raised the upper age limit for national civil service applicants to 38, according to an announcement Tuesday. The new guidelines come into effect ahead of this year’s national civil service exam, scheduled for November, with exam registration beginning October 15.
Religion
Taiyuan: Persecution and Pressure (October 9, 2025, China Partnership)
Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, is a city of about 4 million in northern China. Throughout history, Taiyuan has been the capital of several different dynasties, a crossroads and thoroughfare for invaders from the north, and a cradle of Chinese civilization. Today it is an energy and coal capital of China, and is famous for its vinegar and handmade noodles. Join us this October as we pray for the city of Taiyuan, and hear from local pastors about how their city has changed in the past five years.
Crossroads of Faith Between China and Africa (October 10, 2025, ChinaSource)
For the Chinese church that looks to do missions overseas, it cannot overlook the increased African economic ventures and partnerships with the Chinese and great numbers of their workers in Africa. Thus, it is timely to explore joint theological and missiological concerns in African and Chinese Christianity so that both sides can formulate a good contextualized missional witness to the many Chinese workers who now reside there.
Religion in China Explained (October 10, 2025, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations)
How does religion work in China? Officially, the government recognizes five religions, but people and their practices don’t fit neatly into these categories. Spiritual folk traditions are widely practiced and look like religious activity, but the Chinese government labels these actions as “intangible cultural heritage,” sometimes supporting and subsidizing them. However, the government still views some religions with skepticism, especially those with possible foreign ties, such as Christianity or Islam. Nonetheless, underground churches, mosques, and temples persist in the gray zone between what is officially allowed and what actually plays out on the ground.
China Detains Influential House Church Pastor (October 11, 2025, Christianity Today)
This year Jin again sensed a storm coming. In one Zoom call with Jin, Long asked what would happen if all Zion’s leaders were arrested. Jin replied, “Hallelujah, because a new wave of revival is coming.”
The Cost of Following Christ in China (October 13, 2025, China Partnership)
What does it mean to count the cost? For Chinese Christians, there is not just one cost, but many. Believers need to be ready to count the costs of following Christ, and to understand that there are many different pressures they will need to be ready to face. Christians need to be prepared to experience pressure from their families, lost face in front of others, and pressure or even persecution from the government. But although it is difficult to follow Jesus, those who follow him are walking in truth.
So Many Tones! (October 14, 2025, ChinaSource)
I struggle to speak Mandarin phrases mainly due to the four tones. Why would I subject myself to trying to learn phrases in a Chinese dialect with more than four tones? It is because when I recognize their heritage and speak a phrase of their dialect, it shows that they are valued. Steve Fortunato in his book, The Urgent Recovery of Hospitality, said “Hospitality makes others feel valued.”
Society / Life
When Giving Birth Is a National Duty: Beijing’s Struggle to Reverse Demographic Decline (October 8, 2025, MERICS)
China’s demographic dilemma is characterized by a rapidly aging population, a declining birth rate, and a shrinking workforce. Many other countries share population challenges (see exhibit 1), but China’s problems have unique characteristics, foreshadowing a crisis that is unprecedented in many of its aspects.
Beyond Representation: On Being a Woman in Science in China (October 8, 2025, Made in China Journal)
In the autumn of 1995, Ye Shuhua made a speech. During the NGO Forum at the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, the 68-year-old astronomer took to the microphone and called on fellow women to break the glass ceiling and realise their potentials (Ye 2023; China Science Daily 2016).
Economics / Trade / Business
Explainer | What Makes the Xinjiang-Tibet Mega Railway China’s ‘Project of the Century’? (October 12, 2025, South China Morning Post)
Construction is set to begin next month on a monumental railway linking Hotan in Xinjiang with Lhasa in Tibet – one of China’s most ambitious infrastructure projects to date. The 1,980km (1,230 miles) line has been dubbed one of the “projects of the century” for the extreme engineering challenges it presents and the massive investment required. Traversing mountain ranges, glaciers and permafrost zones at altitudes averaging above 4,500 metres (14,764 feet), it will connect the two autonomous regions in northwestern and southwestern China. In this explainer, the Post examines why the railway matters for Beijing and its anticipated costs and benefits.
China Vows to Stand Firm Against Trump’s 100% Tariff Threat (October 12, 2025, NPR)
China signaled Sunday that it would not back down in the face of a 100% tariff threat from President Donald Trump, urging the US to resolve differences through negotiations instead of threats. “China’s stance is consistent,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online. “We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one.”
Consequences Be Damned. China Loves Its Own Economic Model (October 13, 2025, The Economist) (subscription required)
The big debate about the Chinese economy has long pitted those who see it as a bubble waiting to burst against those who judge it a sustainable success. A new debate is now emerging, which is potentially far nastier. Much of the world falls into one camp: admiring China’s accomplishments, but also reeling from a deluge of Chinese exports. In the other camp is China, utterly convinced of the rightness of its economic model.
Science / Technology
China Flicks the Switch on World-First Thermal Power Station in Gobi Desert (October 9, 2025, South China Morning Post)
China has switched on a world-first solar thermal power station in the Gobi Desert that is said to be a cheaper and more efficient use of the technology with potential to be scaled up. Built by the China Three Gorges Corporation, the plant in Guazhou county in northwestern Gansu province uses two towers feeding a single turbine system – the first time this has been done.
Chinese EVs Adding AI Assistants with [Customizable] Personality (October 14, 2025, Chinaskinny)
China’s new energy vehicles (NEVs) are becoming not only “like homes,” but also “like humans,” with carmakers competing to add emotional and playful features inside so-called ‘smart cabins’. The best-known example is NIO’s NOMI, a round black AI assistant with a physical “head” that greets drivers, makes faces, and responds with hundreds of cute expressions. It embodies China’s ¥1 trillion ($141 billion) “companion economy,” where people treat objects like pets.
Travel / Food
Welcome to Liu York: Going with the Flow in China’s Chillest River City (October 8, 2025, The World of Chinese)
“Welcome to Liu York,” says the taxi driver jokingly. As he drives across the bridge, a Manhattan-style skyline rises before my eyes. On a faraway mountain, a giant statue of Tang dynasty (618 – 907) governor Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元), also known in internet memes as the “Liu Statue of Liberty,” heralds my arrival in Liuzhou, the “New York” of Guangxi, China.
‘I Can Touch the Clouds’: How It Feels to Cross the World’s Highest Bridge (October 8, 2024, The Guardian)
As a safety worker for bungee jumps and rope swings, Mr Fu has spent a lot of time standing on bridges. But his new job, working at the new Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Southern China, takes the cake. “The view from the bridge is fantastic,” he tells the Guardian. “Beneath the bridge flows the Beipan River, with Huajiang Village nearby and a waterfall as well. It is very exciting – the bridge is very high, and many visitors come. Standing on it yourself feels thrilling as well.”
Arts / Entertainment / Media
Translations: As CAC Tackles “Malicious” Negativity Online, Popular Influencers Zhang Xuefeng, Hu Chenfeng, Lan Zhanfei Hit with Bans (October 7, 2025, China Digital Times)
Amid a new two-month “Clear and Bright” campaign by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to clean up internet content that “maliciously incites” polarization, pessimism, anxiety, and other negative sentiments, a number of extremely popular online influencers have been hit with multi-platform content bans. Although the reasons for the bans are not entirely clear, there is no shortage of online speculation and commentary, some of it focused on the increasingly difficult task of navigating censorship-related “red lines.”
Make Sure the Mirror Is Glass (October 8, 2025, Domino Theory)
On September 10, American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a university event in Utah. An archetypal case of violence sprung from political polarization, Kirk’s killing seemed like similarly good fodder for China’s billion-dollar propaganda apparatus. But China’s retreat from wolf-warriorism, coupled with the taboo of free speech at the heart of Kirk’s tragedy, has created limits around how China can narrate the event both at home and abroad.
Molding the Message (October 14, 20205, China Media Project)
In many countries, training the next generation of journalists means fostering the skills needed to go after the story and report in the public interest — serving the needs of the audience. In China, where media work is defined by the ruling Communist Party as essential to maintaining regime stability, journalism education takes a fundamentally different path.
History / Culture
100 Years Ago, Beijing’s Forbidden City Opened Its Doors (October 10, 2025, Sixth Tone)
One hundred years ago, on Oct. 10, 1925, the Palace Museum was officially established on the grounds of the Forbidden City, the imperial palace in the heart of Beijing. The museum’s founding, as well as the subsequent opening of the palace for public viewing, the display of the imperial collection, and the establishment of the Gallery of Antiquities were all significant achievements in the transformation of modern China and had a profound impact on the development of museums across the country and even the world. But how did all these things happen? The story begins 14 years earlier on October 10, 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution broke out.
The Repetition of China (October 14, 2025, Made In China Journal)
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe regarded China with fascination, as an inscrutable, self-enclosed order that cast a persistent shadow over Enlightenment reason. That spectral presence returns today, albeit in a different form. Contemporary China is simultaneously the outcome of a Marxist revolution and a formation that eludes the inherited categories of Marxist theory. It confronts theory itself with a problem that cannot be reduced to the familiar dichotomies of East and West, socialism and capitalism, or modernity and tradition.
Podcast: The Great Wager, Episode 1: Richard Nixon’s “Crazy Idea.” (Face Off, via Apple Podcasts)
The Great Wager is a five-part series that tells the story of the extraordinary encounter between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong in 1972 that brought these two countries together, the secret collaborations born from that meeting — and the reverberations we’re still feeling today. We’re thrilled to be re-airing this series, while we’re busily preparing season 3 of Face Off behind the scenes.
Health / Environment
What China’s Landmark Climate Pledge Means for the Fight Against Global Warming (October 8, 2025, Christian Science Monitor)
China is now the dominant force both causing and restraining global warming. Over the past decade, China has been responsible for 90% of the growth in the carbon dioxide emissions that are raising world temperatures, research shows. Yet China is also at the forefront of the world’s green energy transition, and is filling a leadership void left by the United States as Washington has withdrawn from international climate agreements.
Events
Online Seminar: “A Timely Call to Discernment on Traditional Gnosticism for the Chinese Church: Liberating Our Reason and Spirit in the Logos and the Holy Spirit” (Boston Academic Institution)
Due to the influence of the convergence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, many Chinese Protestant Christians—even after receiving salvation—may find it difficult to completely leave behind certain patterns of thought and practice from these traditions. Among them, Gnostic elements embedded in traditional Chinese culture and Chinese collective subconsciousness have, in some cases, acted like tares among the wheat, subtly constraining and sometimes distorting Christian reason, heart and spirituality. This seminar will be conducted in Chinese.
Format: Online via Zoom (Login information provided after registration)
Time: Thursday,10/23/25, 8:30pm EST | Friday,10/24/25, 8:30pm Beijing Time
Seminar Registration Form Links: Inside China Link | Outside China Link
Pray for China
October 11 (Pray For China: A Walk Through History)
Wu Han (吴晗), a notable figure in the Cultural Revolution, died in prison on Oct. 11, 1969. Wu was jailed after his play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office was interpreted as criticism of Mao Zedong. Pray for those in prison for serving the Lord to stand strong in the power of his eternal Word.The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8
Praying Through the ChinaSource Journal (October 13, 2025, ChinaSource)
In August 2025, we published the summer issue of our ChinaSource Journal. The topic was artificial intelligence (AI) under the title Where Wisdom Meets Faith: The Chinese Church’s Response. AI is here to stay and its potential impact is immense. As Christians, we need divine wisdom to meet both the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid growth and spread of AI. With that in mind, I want to highlight how we can use this issue of the ChinaSource Journal as a guide for prayer–for ourselves and for our churches, whether in China or abroad.
Praying Through ZGBriefs (August 29, 2025, ChinaSource)
Operation World (April 21, 2025, ChinaSource)
Pray for China (prayforchina.us)
Pray for China (China Partnership)
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life (May 30, 2025, ChinaSource)
Jason Mandryk on Intercessory Prayer (July 29, 2025, ChinaSource)