Gregory B. Poling’s 2022 work explores the history of a hotly contested waterway. U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships in the South China Sea.[1] There is a struggle for control of the South China Sea, and China is winning. Every country whose shores touch the waterway has been caught in a decades-long tangle of disputed sovereignty claims, international dialogues, and diplomatic confusion. The United States has been woven into the web since long ago, seeking

Alex Joske's 2022 work scrutinizes the Ministry of State Security (MSS) intelligence apparatus and its influence over Western impressions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). [1] [2] In Spies and Lies: How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World, Alex Joske distinguishes China’s intelligence-gathering forte from that of other regimes, explaining that MSS agents often sought relationships with businessmen, think tank researchers, and retired officials to promote

The march towards conflict, or just one author’s perception of the military threat posed by China?[1] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks before a session of China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing in March 2023.[2] In his book “China is Going to War,” political commentator and journalist Gordon Chang presents a bold assertion: China is actively planning for an offensive military confrontation. In doing so, Chang provides a compelling view of current Chinese domestic

Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s 2020 work provides an overview of Hong-Kong’s struggle for self-determination.[1] In October 2014, protestors hung a banner reading “implement dual universal suffrage” on Lion Rock, overlooking Hong Kong. Photo: Kevin Cheng/USP United Social Press.[2] Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink presents an image of Hong Kong in a waning phase - not because of the spirit of its people, which is as strong as ever - but because of a looming Beijing

Howard W. French’s 2014 work explores how a million migrants are forging a Chinese proxy domain throughout.