Chinese are looking for new meanings in their life, says journalist Ian Johnson. They are looking for religious values, both condoned by the government or illegal, but also shop around for other spiritual values. And mostly the government supports that search, as long as there are no foreign links.Read More →

Beijing has many ways to dive into its colorful past. Author Zhang Lijia joined last Sunday the Boxer rebellion walking tour, an episode in China’s history where interpretation way much, depending whether you are a Western of a Chinese scholar.Read More →

Since Chinese government agencies have started to remove crosses from churches – officially for security reasons – the resistance, and government backlash, has been growing. Focus is in Zhejiang province. Journalist Ian Johnson toured experts and made an update for the New York Times.Read More →

While China is still executing more prisoners than any other country, those numbers are dropping fast. Author Zhang Lijia looks at the sometimes fierce debate on capital punishment in China for the IA-forum. Most Chinese support the death penalty, but that support is dropping fast, she writes.Read More →

Polling Chinese about religion is a field where western researchers fast get lost in translation, journalist Ian Johnson argues in The New York Times, looking at a Win/Gallup poll. Last year Johnson forced the Pew Research Centre to retract their conclusions on atheism in China. Why is it so hard to get a poll on religion in China right?Read More →