Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. This is what George Orwell predicted would happen in 1984. This prediction came true in China, in 2014. In 2014, the Chinese Communist Party published an ominous document titled “Planning Outline for the Construction of a Social Credit System.” It was […]
On January 18, 2017, Genova, only one of the gates to the sprawling Palais de Nations (Palace of the United Nations) remained open. There were long lines for security checks. Junior staff at the UN were drafted to escort the 200 members of the Chinese delegation accompanying the Chinese President Xi into the building. The […]
September 11 marked the tenth year of my arrival in the United States and the beginning of my American Dream. That day also is indelibly etched in the collective consciousness of the nation – On September 11, 2001, 19 radical Islamic terrorists hijacked four fuel-loaded US commercial airplanes bound for West Coast destinations and slammed […]
Richard Mouw, an American theologian and philosopher, recently published an article online, titled “Are Chinese Christians persecuted? Not Exactly” He criticized some China-watchers who have been reporting increased persecution of Christians in China. After visiting some churches and seminaries run by the Chinese government, Mr. Mouw concluded that he saw “no sign of that kind […]
Ms. Yang Shuping, a senior graduate from the University of Maryland, recently delivered the commencement speech at her graduation. She said she grew up in a city in China where she had to wear a face mask every time she went outside, otherwise she might get sick. However, the moment she arrived in the United […]
On February 8, 2017, Mr. Hu, his wife and children, returned to his hometown, Luokan Town, Zhenxiong County, in the Yunnan Province, to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The officials of the Birth Control Office in Luokan Town dragged him out of his house and forced him to have a vasectomy. The officials claimed that […]
While “wiretapping” is a heated topic in the United States, on the other side of the world the Chinese government “quietly” began a campaign of installing surveillance cameras in churches to spy on Christians. Recent reports say that the government will know exactly who is attending services and what is said from the pulpit. Ironically, […]
(I would like to express my special thanks to the American Bar Association and Carolina Academic Press for kindly providing me with a review copy of Mr. Gao’s memoir. This blog is the first part of my book review of “Unwavering Convictions: Gao Zhisheng’s Ten-Year Torture and Faith in China’s Future.”) Mr. Gao Zhisheng, the […]
Today is Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rooster, 2017. I left Beijing in January 2009; I have never returned to China since. “Stay away from Falun Gong and other … you know the consequences (jail)!” was the parting warning from a Communist Party secretary when I left the university I used to teach […]
My friend David loves to tell me how his family enjoys the Christmas season and how it is his wife’s most wonderful time of the year – their children come home and their house is filled with joyful laughter. David’s home represents how millions of ordinary American families celebrate and enjoy Christmas in the United […]