In Brief

1.) New Publication: Agriculture in China: Between self-suffiency and global integration
2.) Report: EU-China Civil Society Dialogue on Climate Change & Sustainable Production
3.) New Trends in Philantropy and Civil Society in China - by China Development Brief
4.) "Religions and Christianity in Today's China - new e-journal published

Unfortunately we learned that most files stored on www.eu-china.net cannot be opened and downloaded in China. So if you are interested in some specific publications please send an e-mail to china-programm@asienhaus.de.

The brochure was published by German Asia Foundation / Asienstiftung in cooperation with the EU-China Civil Society Forum (with contributions of Uwe Hoering and Nora Sausmikat). It is translated from the German version "Landwirtschaft in China".

The agricultural crisis in China (or, better put, the crisis of the rural society) has been discussed, however not in any official capacity. It had not been until 2004 that the Chinese government declared the development of China’s rural regions to be of top priority in their policy-making.

During the past few years, an increasing number of urban civil society-initiatives have began discussing consumer and rural topics and have succeeded in creating their own programs, like “green food”, or those promoting sustainable agriculture. From a European perspective, the growing exportation of agricultural products into the EU as well as China’s involvement in agriculture in Africa are of particular importance.

This publication provides a systematic overview of the agricultural developments in China. It also focuses on those issues which are relevant to European civil societies, and hopes to contribute to the exchanges between the major players of both regions’ civil societies.

The report documents the first dialogue-meeting, which took place from July 13-15 2011 in Ningbo as part of the "EU-China Civil Society Dialogue on Participatory Public Policy. The conference was organised by University Nottingham Ningo and CANGO (China Association for NGO Cooperation).

The report can be found here

At the same time videos were produced by citizen reporters of Nottingham University Television Station (NUTS).

What are the controversies and debates over fundraising and philanthropy that have emerged in recent years? What has been the government’s response to these debates? What steps have foundations been taking to strengthen trust and accountability in philanthropy? How is the independent, or grassroots, nonprofit or NGO sector being affected by these developments? Will the newly emerging private foundations evolve into supporters of grassroots NGOs and civil society in general?

The special issue of China Development Brief, translated from articles published in Chinese by China Development Brief helps to answer these questions.

To get access to the table of contents and the articles: click here

The philanthropy sector in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has come a long way since the 1980s and 1990s, when it was dominated by government-backed foundations or government-organized NGOs (GONGOs). After the Regulations for Foundation Management were issued in 2004, the philanthropy sector saw the rapid growth of private foundations that are now beginning to rival their government counterparts in both numbers and visibility. Over the past few years, some important developments have taken place, stimulated by fundraising controversies in the wake of the 2008 Sichuan and 2010 Yushu earthquakes, and initiatives led by a small group of private foundations to strengthen philanthropy and civil society in China.

This special issue, which represents the inaugural publication of China Development Brief (English), covers these important developments, the debates they have engendered in the philanthropy and civil society sector, and profiles some of the major figures and organizations involved. In the future, CDB (English) will continue to translate and publish other articles and special issues on its website, www.chinadevelopmentbrief.cn, and occasionally in print. 

We would like to inform you about the announcement of a new e-journal, published by the China-Zentrum eV in Bonn (Germany). The first issues contains ie articles about Chinese migration to Europe.

For subscribing click here

"Many of you have been in contact with the China-Zentrum e.V. (China Center) in Sankt Augustin (Germany) through lectures, conferences, publications, and other events. The China-Zentrum is a recognized non-profit organization that encourages encounters and exchange between cultures and religions in the West and in China. It also publishes the journal "China heute. Informationen über Religion und Christentum im chinesischen Raum"

Already for a number of years we have been requested from many sides to provide parts of China heute with its analyses also in English. Thus, within the context of a further "internationalization" of the China-Zentrum, we hereby announce the publication of the new e-journal Religions & Christianity in Today's China. It will be published with 4 issues a year and is freely available on our website. In addition to major articles on changing topics each issue will contain the chronicle „News Update on Religion and Church in China" to keep our readers informed on current events."