The Truth About China

Propaganda, Patriotism and the Search for Answers

Bill Birtles

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English

Allen & Unwin
26 April 2021

Memoirs; History; Press & journalism

A thrilling and provocative account of unfolding tensions between China and the West, filled with the people, stories and sticky situations from Bill Birtles' five years as ABC correspondent.

'People abroad always thought things were much scarier in China than they really were. What threw me, though, was the urgency of the diplomats in Beijing. They live it, they get it. And they wanted me out.'

Bill Birtles was rushed out of China in September 2020, forced to seek refuge in the Australian Embassy in Beijing while diplomats delicately negotiated his departure in an unprecedented standoff with China's government. Five days later he was on a flight back to Sydney, leaving China without any Australian foreign correspondents on the ground for the first time in decades.

A journalist's perspective on this rising global power has never been more important, as Australia's relationship with China undergoes an extraordinary change that's seen the detention of a journalist Cheng Lei, Canberra's criticism of Beijing's efforts to crush Hong Kong's freedoms, as well as China's military activity in the South China Sea and its human rights violations targeting the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang province. Chronicling his five-year stint in China as he criss-crossed the country, Birtles reveals why the historic unravelling of China's relations with the West is perceived very differently inside the country.

The Truth About China is a compelling and candid examination of China, one that takes a magnifying glass to recent events, and looks through a telescope at what is yet to come.

By: Bill Birtles
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 237mm, Width: 155mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 480g
ISBN: 9781760879860
ISBN 10: 176087986X
Publication Date: 26 April 2021
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Truth About China: Propaganda, Patriotism and the Search for Answers

Bill Birtles, the last Australian Broadcasting Company correspondent with China (2015-2020), was expelled from the country in September 2020 The book begins the day of his expulsion He was visited by state security officials in the middle of the night as Australian diplomats warned him to get out of the country. He sought refuge in the Australian embassy during a tense stand-off. Covers the Hong Kong protests https: //www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/08/australian-journalists-leave-china-bill-birtles-michael-smith-cheng-lei/