The Empire of Lies: The Truth about China in the Twenty-First Century

For too long we've been subjected to a view of China that is beneficial to those whose primary concern is international business, with no caveats. The author goes behind the facile observations that constitute today's reporting on China and gives historical and cultural perspectives on what you see and don't see in the news. This is an easy to read book, highly recommended.

Much is made in the West today about the growing power and growing economy of China. Many fear that China will dominate the world by the end of the twenty-first century. French writer Guy Sorman takes a different view in "The Empire of Lies". He interviews several people, including dissidents, in an attempt to uncover the truth about China today. Sorman believes that the Chinese economy is not growing as quickly as advertised, and that there is much discontent, especially in the countryside. The institutions in the country, he believes, encourage short-term thinking--this retards economic growth. In contrast to many in the West, he thinks that China will not be able to conquer Taiwan in the near future. Sorman also takes a look at religion and the persecution of religion by the Communist Party. Sorman asserts that the West has had a tendency to misread China for centuries, and that it still does so today. Unlike many in the U.S. and Europe, he says that there is no reason to fear China at this time.

Sorman has written a good summary of China's problems caused by the totalitarian Communist government. One has to feel a bit sorry for China's Communist leaders, as they are riding a runaway horse they cannot get off from - because the current political and economic system cannot go on (although like Gorbachev, they may not know it). However Sorman tends to overstate his positions (it's unlikely that almost all foreign investors are losing money in China for example) while some of his assertions could be backed up with some very persuasive evidence (the problem of bad loans in the banking system for one). The real value of the book is his conversations with Chinese both within the Party and those opposed, and his conversations in Taiwan. These are really illuminating. The book was probably written more for the European (and especially French) intelligentsia with their love of socialism and a social and political order led by the properly academically qualified (somehow they seem to have forgotten that the intelligentsia were the ones murdered, tortured-frequently to death, exiled, and assaulted by their beloved Mao's Cultural Revolution). But their support of the Communists also allows them to satisfy their anti-American feelings. So the book is a good summary of the political and economic problems facing China under the current system, although his points could be better documented. The translation unfortunately is not very good.

Economic conservatives and neoliberal "spinners" from James Fallows and Reed Hundt through Bill Clinton (singled out in one passage) are exposed as frauds, liars and enablers for a China of modern myth in this power-packed new book. French journalist, politician and philosopher (and why can't we get that combo in America), exposes the lies of both the Chinese Communist Party and its Western apologists, which range from hardcore economic conservative American capitalists to French communists. There's a few basic lies that underscore the scores of surface lies both the Chinese Party and its western enablers tell. Sorman says Lie No. 1 is that capitalism will lead to democracy. He has a clear, albeit much smaller, counterexample - Singapore, led by, ironically or not, Chinese. Lie No. 2 is that there is a "Chinese mindset," "Chinese way of business," or whatever, that is antithetical to democracy. Variants of that include references (usually wrong ones, according to Sorman) to Confucianism, etc. Counterexample? Taiwan. Daoism, repressed in China, flourishes there along with Confucianism, Buddhism and Protestant and Catholic Christianity -- along with traditional Chinese culture. Lie No. 3 is the lie of Chinese economic statistics. Sorman says that even if you don't discount the costs of environmental degradation, Chinese growth rates are almost surely somewhat overstated, and possibly highly overstated. Lie No. 4 might be a partial variant of No. 2, and would be the "China isn't all that bad" lie, especially if you compare it to the former Soviet Union. Sorman argues the other way around, that China is arguably more repressive than the Soviets of Khrushchev and beyond, at least in some ways. As a result of all this, Sorman says, we really don't have that much to fear from China as a foreign power in general or a military adventurer in particular. On the economic side, in fact, he expects the rich-poor gap to be likely to worsen, not improve. Another "sublie" would be the one that Western countries, through "economic involvement" with China, can moderate its behavior. China isn't going to be moderated by that. And, as a sidebar, Sorman estimates that about half the Western-owned factories in China are money-losers. Read this book and get an unvarnished view of today's China.

Most TIMELY profound analysis of the Chinese govt, and what can lead China to become a truly great nation. Confirms for me that China's brand of Communism will likely devolve like USSR.