The human rights threat and the North Korean Regime

Update: The full interview is now available online. — What’s going on in North Korea? The First Issue of Religion & Liberty in 2017 will explore this question in depth. The main feature will be an interview with Suzanne Scholte, president of the Defense Forum Foundation. Continue Reading...

Samuel Gregg: How Bernie Sanders spins a papal encyclical

At The Stream, Acton Institute Research Director Samuel Gregg does a crime scene investigation of Bernie Sanders’ take on Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus encyclical. You might never guess, by listening to the Democrat presidential candidate, that John Paul actually had some positive things to say about the market economy. Continue Reading...

North Koreans face new challenges after they defect

They faced potential starvation, imprisonment, torture, and made a dangerous journey to freedom only to discover new struggles that they never could have comprehended in their former lives. Stories and reports of North Koreans fleeing their country aren’t particularly unusual. Continue Reading...

China Ends One-Child Policy, Still Limiting Births

The BBC reported today that China is ending its one-child policy, providing the following overview: Introduced in 1979, the policy meant that many Chinese citizens – around a third, China claimed in 2007 – could not have a second child without incurring a fine In rural areas, families were allowed to have two children if the first was a girl Other exceptions included ethnic minorities and – since 2013 – couples where at least one was a single child Campaigners say the policy led to forced abortions, female infanticide, and the under-reporting of female births It was also implicated as a cause of China’s gender imbalance Before everyone celebrates, China did not, however, eliminate all limits but changed the limit to two children. Continue Reading...

China: Brides Needed, Apply ASAP

China’s brutal one-child policy means that men far outnumber women in China. Men can’t find brides, and that leaves the door open for human-trafficking. Adam Minter reports that some men in China are willing (and able) to pay upwards of $64,000 to woo a woman into marriage. Continue Reading...

Chinese Government Tries To Stay Ahead Of Child Traffickers

Underground delivery rooms. Babies smuggled in designer handbags. Criminal gangs kidnapping pregnant women. It’s all part of a growing concern in China: child trafficking. According to CNN, Chinese authorities rescued 37 newborns and one toddler this week, arresting over 100 people in the process. Continue Reading...