Category Archives: Book Reviews

JIAYANG FAN: Yan Lianke’s Novel Assesses the Moral Cost of China’s Growth

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Yan Lianke. Credit Philippe Picquier

THE EXPLOSION CHRONICLES
By Yan Lianke
Translated by Carlos Rojas
457 pp. Grove Press. $26.

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Ray Hecht: Party Members: a gruesome China book review

party-membersParty Members by Arthur Meursault is an intense, ugly, gruesome work of fiction that will leave most feeling nauseous. It’s also a page-turner that is kind of essential reading for China observers. Reader discretion is advised, be aware that this one may offend many if not all… Continue reading

Tienchi Martin-Liao: The Unwelcome Chinese

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Chinese tourists in Edinburgh. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Although insulting, Chen Pokong’s book is accurate in portraying a China that indulges in capitalistic consumption.

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Daniel Auerbach and Brett Clark: The Internet and Monopoly Capitalism

digital-disconnectRobert W. McChesney, Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism Is Turning the Internet against Democracy (New York: New Press, 2013), 299 pages, $27.95, hardcover. Continue reading

Hang Lin: Early Modern China and Northeast Asia

Reviewed item:

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Richard C. Bush: Hong Kong in the Shadow of China- Living with the Leviathan

bush_hong-kong-oct-7A close-up look at the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong 

Hong Kong in the Shadow of China is a reflection on the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong during which the Chinese government insisted on gradual movement toward electoral democracy, and hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied major thoroughfares to push for full democracy now. Fueling this struggle is deep public resentment over growing inequality and how the political system—established by China and dominated by the local business community—reinforces the divide been those who have profited immensely and those who struggle for basics such as housing. Continue reading

Yao Han: China’s Next Strategic Advantage: From Imitation to Innovation by George S. Yip and Bruce Mckern

chinas-next-strategic-innovation-coverIn China’s Next Strategic Advantage: From Imitation to Innovation, George S. Yip and Bruce McKern suggest that China has leapt successfully from being an imitative to an innovative country. As Chinese companies become increasingly innovative and perform better in domestic and international markets, the authors argue that other countries need to learn from China or risk lagging behind. Besides analysing both Chinese firms and MNCs in China, the book also taps into questions of open innovation and intellectual property protection practices. Yao Han appreciates the use of detailed examples and cases in illustrating the process towards innovation in China. Continue reading

Dinah Gardner: The People’s Republic of Control

xjp19A review of Stein Ringen’s ‘The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century’

Back in late 2012, when Xi Jinping (習近平) first came to power, there was a flurry of opinion that said he was China’s long-awaited liberal reformer. As time passed, everyone could see that Xi was clearly heading in a more dictatorial rather than democratic direction — purging critics, consolidating power within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), squeezing civil society, arresting rights lawyers, and in the economic arena, unable to boast of anything little better than a lackluster record on meaningful reform. Continue reading