Americans have made great progress in many ways across recent generations. The average size of our homes has nearly tripled since 1950, for example. Technological innovations, from air conditioning to the internet, have greatly enhanced our daily lives. By contrast, our greatest geopolitical competitor has fallen on significant hard times in recent years.
More than 40,000 prayer groups in Taiwan have arisen amid threats of war from China.
A crackdown on spiritual activities is forcing Chinese Christians in the Henan province to apply online for permission to attend church.
Persecuted church bodies are not merely to be objects of our mercy and care. When they suffer, we suffer. They are our fellow laborers and members of the same Body. We may not be able to share in their suffering, but we do have the honor of learning from their struggles. Our trials, at present, are not as extreme or dramatic as theirs. However, the wisdom they offer may well be the insight we will need to face down the challenges of our own times and the times that may come. Let us continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in China and elsewhere, aiding them however and whenever we can. Let us be grateful for the gifts of their hard-earned wisdom.
It is far easier to face challenges if we trust that they are being used for a greater purpose. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman points out in his fascinating recent article, "America, China and a Crisis of Trust," this is a principle of enormous geopolitical significance.
Thai immigration officials have detained 28 Chinese adults and 35 Chinese children.
A new intelligence report from the U.S. Energy Department suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic began following a leak at a lab in Wuhan, China.
The US Energy Department (USED) has concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic origin was most likely a laboratory leak.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this conclusion “is the result of new intelligence and is significant because the agency has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of US national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research.” However, people who have read the classified report add that the USED made its judgment with “low confidence” (which means that it is based on highly incomplete evidence).
Unlike satellites which travel in space, balloons are like other aircraft in that they are subject to international aviation law. According to such law, a nation’s airspace is sovereign territory that cannot be entered without express permission. As a result, surveillance balloons are clear violations of national sovereignty when they enter another country’s airspace.
The 2023 International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington D.C. determined that China "poses the greatest threat" to religious freedom.
