Kaixin's China - Books & DVD's

The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power by Hugh White

2012-11-12T21:06:15Z

The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power

by

Hugh White

Hugh White is professor of strategic studies at ANU and a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute.

China is rising - how should America respond? That could be the crucial question of the twenty-first century, according to strategic expert Hugh White. In this essential book, White considers what the US should do in the Asian century. As China's economy grows to become the world's largest, America has three choices: it can compete, share power or concede leadership in Asia. The choice is momentous: as significant for America's future as any it has faced. White controversially argues that America's best option is to share power with China - relinquish its sole supremacy but not concede a leading role. The China Choice is an urgent intervention in the China debate and provides a blueprint for a peaceful future.

Hugh White is a professor of strategic studies at ANU. He has been an intelligence analyst, a journalist and a senior Defence official. In 2010 he wrote the acclaimed Quarterly Essay Power Shift: Australia's Future between Washington and Beijing. The finest synthesis to date of all the major questions facing East Asia ... a provocative work imbued with intellectual integrity.

Robert D. Kaplan A brilliant and incisive analysis of the US-China relationship which contains vitally important recommendations for how its dangers may be avoided and peace secured. Indispensable reading.

Anatol Lieven Thoughtful, thought-provoking and highly readable.

J. Stapleton Roy, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States and former US ambassador to China Trenchant assessment from a sympathetic but clinically detached perspective. Agree or disagree in the end, readers will be better off for understanding White's case.

James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic and author of Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China and China Airborne Every student of Asian geopolitics will benefit from reflecting on the arguments in The China Choice.

Walter Russell Mead, editor-at-large of The American Interest Erudition and a first-rate intellect - a must-read.

Bob Hawke, prime minister of Australia 1983-91 A lucid and hugely stimulating contribution to a debate we can no longer avoid. -Gareth Evans, president emeritus of the International Crisis Group

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The Cambridge Illustrated History of China by Patricia Buckley Ebrey

2012-05-23T09:02:37Z

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China by Patricia Buckley Ebrey

"Patricia Ebrey's Illustrated History of China is a fine book....With great economy of text, it outlines the major elements and changes in four millennia of Chinese history and social life; the art work and photographs, skillfully chosen and admirably reproduced, both illuminate the text and supplement it." Jonathan Spence, Yale University

"Of all the general histories of China written to date, this book is among the most comprehensive, objective, and well-balanced, and it will surely be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of teachers, students, and anyone else interested in understanding the broader evolution of Chinese civilization." China Review International

"...Patricia Buckley Ebrey masterfully synthesizes more than four thousand years of Chinese history in a single volume....The Cambridge Illustrated History of China provides an excellent introduction to the study of China and Chinese civilization. It offers a straightforward, yet complex account of historical events and issues that is well supported and augmented by the supplementary special-topic sections and illustrations....In the foreword, Kwang-Ching Liu expresses his belief that this book will eventually be regarded as a classic....Professor Liu's confidence in this matter certainly seems justified." China Review International

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China's Century of Humiliation Richard Baum PHD (Actor), Yunxiang Yan PHD (Actor), Mitch Anderson (Director) | Format: DVD

2012-05-23T08:58:23Z

China's Century of Humiliation

Richard Baum PHD (Actor), Yunxiang Yan PHD (Actor), Mitch Anderson (Director) | Format: DVD

From an isolated agricultural society, China has risen in the last 20 years to the rank of the second largest economy in the world. While many tabloids cover this event, little is remembered about the tumultuous interaction between China and the Western powers throughout the nineteenth century. This documentary will explore the fundamental differences between the Western and Chinese culture from early beginnings. Part one will debate how Christianity and Confucianism were translated in political thought and social systems. Next, the film explores why the industrial revolution did not take place in China, despite its many early inventions, but in Europe. Part two explains the first economic and military encounters between the British and Chinese Empires. Trade deficits, war threats and reprisals have marked the 19th century as one of the bloodiest and most shameful in Chinese history. Today, these past lessons can serve as an powerful insight for what the future might bring for China and the rest of the world.

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China: The Rebirth of an Empire Chalmers Johnson (Actor), Rebiya Kadeer (Actor), Jesse Veverka (Director), Jeremy Veverka (Director) | Format: DVD

2012-05-23T07:57:06Z

China: The Rebirth of an Empire

Chalmers Johnson (Actor), Rebiya Kadeer (Actor), Jesse Veverka (Director), Jeremy Veverka (Director) | Format: DVD

China's unprecedented growth has placed it on the verge of overtaking the United States as the world's preeminent power. But what type of power will China become? In today's interconnected and globalized world, the answer affects each and every one of us. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, China's humanitarian activities and investment in infrastructure have won it the hearts and minds of the people. Yet in Tibet and Xinjiang, China is reviled for its imperialistic abuse of human rights. Will China use its strength to dominate its neighbors and become a 21st century empire, or will China's youth lead the country towards democracy? Whether it's a peaceful rise or potential threat, China's 21st century emergence as a great world power will change the lives of everyone. This DVD contains the 86 minute theatrical version of China: The Rebirth of an Empire, winner of three awards for BEST DOCUMENTARY, as well as a special features section containing deleted footage and behind-the-scenes interviews with the directors.

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Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon

2012-05-23T05:08:43Z

Consent of the Networked

The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon

The Internet was going to liberate us, but in truth it has not. For every story about the web’s empowering role in events such as the Arab Spring, there are many more about the quiet corrosion of civil liberties by companies and governments using the same digital technologies we have come to depend upon.

Sudden changes in Facebook’s features and privacy settings have exposed identities of protestors to police in Egypt and Iran. Apple removes politically controversial apps at the behest of governments as well as for its own commercial reasons. Dozens of Western companies sell surveillance technology to dictatorships around the world. Google struggles with censorship demands from governments in a range of countries—many of them democracies—as well as mounting public concern over the vast quantities of information it collects about its users.

In Consent of the Networked, journalist and Internet policy specialist Rebecca MacKinnon argues that it is time to fight for our rights before they are sold, legislated, programmed, and engineered away. Every day, the corporate sovereigns of cyberspace make decisions that affect our physical freedom—but without our consent. Yet the traditional solution to unaccountable corporate behavior—government regulation—cannot stop the abuse of digital power on its own, and sometimes even contributes to it.

A clarion call to action, Consent of the Networked shows that it is time to stop arguing over whether the Internet empowers people, and address the urgent question of how technology should be governed to support the rights and liberties of users around the world.

Eight Questions: Rebecca MacKinnon, ‘Consent of the Networked’

As Beijing bureau chief for CNN in the late 1990′s, Rebecca MacKinnon witnessed first-hand the arrival of the Internet in China and the Chinese government’s struggle to control a technology some predicted would help bring about the end of Communist Party rule.

A decade later, as Ms. MacKinnon documents in her recently released book “Consent of the Networked,” the party is still alive and still fighting to manage the flow of information online, though with far more success than many had previously assumed possible.

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American Wheels, Chinese Roads: The Story of General Motors in China by Michael Dunne

2012-05-23T04:08:48Z

American Wheels, Chinese Roads

The Story of General Motors in China by Michael Dunne

How could one company—General Motors—meet disaster on one continent and achieve explosive growth on another at the very same time?

While General Motors was hurtling towards bankruptcy in 2009, GM’s subsidiary in China was setting new sales and profit records. This book reveals how extraordinary people, remarkable decisions and surprising breaks made triumph in China possible for General Motors. It also shows just how vulnerable that winning track record remains.

No small part of GM’s success in China springs from its management of shifting business and political relationships. In China, the government makes the rules for—and competes in—the auto industry. GM’s business partner, the City of Shanghai, is both an ally and a competitor. How does such an unnatural relationship work on a day-to-day basis? Where will it go on the future?

General Motors also engages in constant battles with other global and Chinese car makers for the hearts of demanding Chinese consumers. Dunne gives us rare glimpses into the mindsets and behavior of this new moneyed set, the worlds newest class of wealthy consumers.

China is already the number one car market in the world. During the next ten years, China will export millions of cars and trucks globally, including to the United States. American Wheels, Chinese Roads presents readers with fascinating illustrations of what to expect when Chinese cars, companies, and business people arrive on our shores.

Michael Dunne is president of Dunne & Company, a Hong Kong-based consultancy specializing in Asian car markets, and a leading expert on China’s auto industry. He is the author of “American Wheels, Chinese Roads: The Story of General Motors in China.”

Foreign auto makers are feeling a whole lot better about China’s drive for electric vehicles, thanks to a set of new guidelines released by Beijing last week.

China had stunned the car-making world in the spring of 2009 when officials in Beijing declared plans to take unilateral leadership of the global electric vehicle industry. Under the plan, China was to build capacity for 500,000 electric cars a year by 2012, rising to several million by 2020. Global car companies were expected to transfer key electric vehicle technologies to their Chinese partners in exchange for continued access to the lucrative Chinese car market.

It was the kind of offer that companies from Europe, American and Japan were not sure they could refuse. With Volkswagen and others making more than 30 percent of its global profits from China, Beijing enjoyed all the leverage. In a twist, foreign firms stalled for time. They lobbied hard for rights to build more of their own gasoline engine powered products while remaining as non-committal as possible about technology transfer.

That slow-walk strategy seems to have paid off, at least for now.

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Tiger Head, Snakes Tails by Jonathan Fenby

2012-05-23T04:02:57Z

Tiger Head, Snake Tails

Making sense of the messy reality of China today is a serious challenge. But Jonathan Fenby, head of the China team at the emerging markets research firm Trusted Sources, former editor of the South China Morning Post and author of the History of Modern China, has better claim than most to be equal to the task.

In his new book “Tiger Head, Snake Tails” he takes on the challenge of providing a balanced assessment of China’s many strengths and manifold weaknesses in just 411 short pages. Always aiming to go one better, China Real Time Report caught up with him to get the lowdown in just eight questions.

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Lonely Planet Discover China (Full Color Country Travel Guide)

2012-05-23T02:57:59Z

Lonely Planet Discover China

Lonely Planet now has 2 different guidebooks for China: "Lonely Planet China" (now in its 12th edition and over 1000 pages long) and this new "Lonely Planet Discover China" (first edition and only 448 pages).

The "Lonely Planet Discover" book is obviously aimed directly at the kind of traveler that has been buying the DK Eyewitness travel books. It is printed on glossy paper with lots of color photos. This book is full of lists to help you find the best or most popular attractions in the country. In fact, the very first chapter of the book is titled "China's Top 25 Experiences". If your time in country is limited and you may never come back, this type of organization will help you make the most of your time.

On the other hand, the plentiful photos and much fewer pages means that the "Discover" book covers much less material than the regular Lonely Planet China book. Missing are the off-the-beaten path towns and historical sites that backpacker travelers crave. Also missing are the long lists of accommodations and restaurants that are very valuable to independent travelers (though you can find a lot of that on the internet these days). In fact, some whole regions of China are missing. The provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan are growing in popularity among tourists, but get only a couple of pages each in the book. Tibet is mentioned nowhere in the book, nor are most of the western and northern parts of the country.

This "Discover" book is great for people going on packaged tours that are only hitting the highlights anyway and have most or all of their hotels and meals taken care of by the tour. Independent travelers may be better off with the regular Lonely Planet book because of the much broader coverage and greater detail.

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Lonely Planet China (Country Travel Guide) Damian Harper (Author)

2012-05-23T02:42:43Z

Lonely Planet China (Country Travel Guide)

Antique yet up-to-the-minute, familiar yet unrecognizable, outwardly urban but quintessentially rural, conservative yet path-breaking China is a land of mesmerizing and eye-opening contradictions. Damian Harper, Lonely Planet Writer
Our Promise
You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.
Inside This Book
11 intrepid authors
198 maps
76 temples & monasteries
100s of noodle spots
Inspirational photos
Clear, easy-to-use maps
Hong Kong & Beijing pull-out map
Special Great Wall feature
Comprehensive planning tools
In-depth background

From the Author

This is the 12th edition of Lonely Planet's massive China guide...and the most exciting one yet.

The guide has been completely redesigned. For those who complained about the fonts and spacing? The layout of the pages is easier to read, with better spacing between the sentences. The guide has also been tweaked to provide better accessibility to information.

The maps are now less cluttered and focuses on the most pertinent of information.

The guide itself has been split into four sections:

1) Plan Your Trip
Essentially planning information at your fingertips. Top Experiences, a calendar of events, regions at a glance, good range of itineraries etc.

2) On the Road
The heart of the book. All our research and a labour of love. This is the destination guides to all the provinces in China. No stone left unturned in the coverage of over 28 provinces.

3) Understand China

Essay on matters that make China tick: the people, religion & beliefs, cuisine, arts & architecture, landscapes, martial arts and more!

4) Survival Guide
The practical information that will save your day. Directory, transpor, language and train information.

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Christopher Buckley’s Satire ‘They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?’

2012-05-23T00:47:54Z

Christopher Buckley’s

They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?

In an attempt to gain congressional approval for a top-secret weapons system, Washington lobbyist "Bird" McIntyre teams up with sexy, outspoken neocon Angel Templeton to pit the American public against the Chinese. When Bird fails to uncover an authentic reason to slander the nation, he and Angel put the Washington media machine to work, spreading a rumor that the Chinese secret service is working to assassinate the Dalai Lama.

Meanwhile in China, mild-mannered President Fa Mengyao and his devoted aide Gang are maneuvering desperately against sinister party hard-liners Minister Lo and General Han. Now Fa and Gang must convince the world that the People's Republic is not out to kill the Dalai Lama, while maintaining Fa's small margin of power in the increasingly militaristic environment of the party.

On the home front, Bird must contend with a high-strung wife who entertains Olympic equestrian ambition, and the qualifying competition happens to be taking place in China. As things unravel abroad, Bird and Angel's lie comes dangerously close to reality. And as their relationship rises to a new level, so do mounting tensions between the United States and China

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