Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to China this week

North Korea makes a kind-of secret visit to China, people are worried about the census and more in this week’s Trump-free Friday politics roundup.

Kim Jong-un visits China

As reported on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to Beijing, far ahead of scheduled talks with South Korea and the U.S. His meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping was unexpected, especially considering that this is the first time Kim Jong-un has traveled outside of North Korea since 2011. It’s also apparently Kim’s first meeting with another head of state.

Many only first learned about this trip when an armored train arrived in the Chinese capital on Monday. Kim, along with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and top North Korean officials were invited by Xi. It was described as an unofficial visit, but hardly anyone is taking it as such. Why would you, when world leaders are discussing it and a bulletproof green train belonging to the Kim family rolls into Beijing?

According to Chinese news sources, Jong-un stated that he was open to talks with other officials, including the U.S. president and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. “If South Korea and the United States respond with good will to our efforts…. the issue of the denuclearization of the peninsula can reach resolution,” he said, according to the New York Times.

That is a vague statement, to say the least, but one that many find encouraging. North Korea has been especially vocal about its growing nuclear weapons program. These include ballistic missiles that could easily reach South Korea and Japan and possibly U.S. territory. Kim’s visit to China and further talks could do much to ease tensions in the region and worldwide.

Since then, North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the neutral border area between the two countries. The meeting will take place on April 27 and is only the third meeting ever between the country’s officials.

Democrat senators call for census question to face a hearing

Since the U.S. Citizenship Bureau released some of its planned questions for the 2020 census, one question, in particular, has raised many eyebrows. That’s the one that asks, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”

In terms of the official, nationwide census, households have not had to answer this question since 1950. Contrary to press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ assertion, it has not been “part of the census for decades.”

Now, some wonder if this question will make undocumented people shy away from the census, which could, in turn, generate inaccurate reports about the American people. It was reportedly added in order to enforce sections of the Voting Rights Act. Fraudulent voting was a favorite bugaboo of the current White House during and after recent elections.

Other questions include write-in boxes for ethnicity and race, along with distinctions between same-sex and opposite-sex couples, meant to generate more detailed reports.

Now, Democratic Senators, including members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, are calling for a hearing about the citizenship query. These include Senators Kamala Harris (California), Tom Carper (Delaware), Gary Peters (Michigan) and Claire McCaskill (Missouri). McCaskill is also the ranking committee member on the above Senate committee.

“We are concerned that the addition of the citizenship question is tainted by improper political considerations,” they wrote in a letter to the chairman of the committee. “DOJ requested the addition of this question in December 2017 based on an unsupported assertion that citizenship data are needed to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act”.

Russian officials kicked out of the U.S.

Almost four weeks ago, ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were the victims of a nerve gas attack in the English city of Salisbury. Yulia is improving rapidly, though her father remains in critical but stable condition. The emergency worker that initially responded has also been released from the hospital.

Officials quickly concluded that Russian agents were behind the attacks. The Skripals were attacked with the Novichok agent developed by Russia. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May stated that intelligence clearly pointed to Russian influence.

Though Russia itself denied the allegations, other countries were quick to respond. Besides a condemnatory statement, many have now moved to expel Russian diplomats from their nations. On Monday, the White House ordered the expulsion of 60 such officials from the United States, referring to them as “Russian intelligence officers.” The Russian consulate in Seattle will also close.

On the same day, 16 countries in the European Union expelled a total of 33 Russian diplomats. Non-EU nations Albania, Australia, Canada, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway and Ukraine kicked out a further 26 diplomats. Numerous ambassadors to Russia have been recalled for what is sure to be a series of exhaustive meetings and debriefings. All told, over 100 diplomats have been sent back to Russia.

Russia, however, is not a nation to take these actions lightly. It responded by closing the American consulate in St. Petersburg and telling 60 U.S. diplomats to leave the country.

Shulkin fired from Veterans Affairs

The revolving door in the federal government has just spit out another official. This time, the unfortunate is Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin.

This is particularly surprising if we consider Shulkin’s departure against his earlier good regard. When joking about using the phrase “you’re fired,” the president said, “We’ll never have to use those words on our David. We will never use those words on you. That’s for sure.”‘

Shulkin now claims that he was pushed out of the secretary post by people who want to privatize the VA. “I think that it’s essential for national security and for the country that we honor our commitment by having a strong VA,” he said. “I was not against reforming VA, but I was against privatization.”

Now, it appears that White House physician Ronny L. Jackson will replace Shulkin. Jackson, who is also a Navy Rear Admiral, was formally named the physician to the president in 2013. He has been a member of the White House medical team since 2006. Most recently, Jackson was the doctor that completed the current president’s first physical in office.

And, finally, your palate cleanser

Not to get all “college undergraduate in their first religious studies class,” but there are multiple pagan themes in modern holidays. Easter is perhaps one of the most blatant of these holidays. The Christian celebration of Jesus’ resurrection is one of the most important celebrations in any church, regardless of denomination. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find mentions of an Easter bunny or colorfully dyed eggs in the Bible.

Now, this isn’t a knock on any religion. Celebrate Easter however you choose, whether that involves a sunrise service or dancing around a maypole, or both. Over at NPR, Kim Vukovich is calling for a tradition that could bring together all of the disparate folk in your community: hot cross buns.

Traditionally, hot cross buns have only been served on Good Friday. Buns — with crosses on them — were also found in the ruins of Herculaneum. That town that was destroyed by volcanic ash and lava along with Pompeii in 79 C.E.

Next: Is China really an "economic enemy" of the United States?

It’s hard to tell what will bring people together, especially when a hot-button topic like religion is involved. However, these are baked goods we’re talking about. If nothing else, it’s worth a try.

Check out a recipe here or here and get to work. See if you start to feel a little more welcoming after you bite into one.