The essay was originally published last year on the Chinese-language website Boston Review of Books. I had the honor of translating it into English and writing a thousand-word introduction.

The exercise took weeks of time, making me appreciate the work put into translating by professional Chinese-English translators like Michael Berry at UCLA–not just the literal translation but the interpretation needed so it makes sense for a new audience.

For that, I owe the editing staff at the Review a huge amount of thanks. They found inconsistencies, unclear points, and inelegant phrasing throughout the work. This is an online essay and people sometimes still think that online means some sort of slapdash “blogpost.” In fact, this was more carefully and attentively edited than most print articles I’ve written, for any publication.

The article is behind a paywall but you can access it by creating an account and enjoying one free article, or you can write me for a PDF. It will also be unlocked on the Asia Society’s Chinafile NYRB archive in a month, as part of an agreement with the Review. However, I’d encourage readers to try the NYRB site first–even just registering for a free trial helps the Review, which is a unique, family-run journal. Work like this involves a paid staff and it should be supported in any way possible!

How I got to know Wang Yi, the jailed pastor of Pray for Early Rain Covenant Church. This article in Christianity Today (简体字 / 正體字）is an introduction I wrote to a collection of his theological writings, Faithful Disobedience: Writings on Church and State from a Chinese House Church Movement, which has recently been published in the United States.

His thoughts go far beyond the specifics of China, raising universal questions about how religions and governments act. But they also illuminate the party’s new stricter policies on religions, and explain why he chose to go to jail for his belief.

Spending time with Wang Yi (which I describe in detail in The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao) was a privilege, and it still sickens me to think of him in jail, far from his wife and son. I can only hope that he makes it through to the other side and is reunited with them.

Thanks to Christianity Today for reprinting this introduction, and Hannah Nation and others for their editing of his writings

In this piece for the Council on Foreign Relations, I give my quick take on the recently concluded party congress, questioning whether Xi is really as powerful as people make him out to be, or if his omnipresence is a sign of looming weakness.