Page 337 - EW September 2022

Books

solution to the rapid multi- review. Guoanbu has been
plication of homo sapiens. remarkably successful in CHINESE SPIES: FROM
Be that as it may, in keeping itself out of the CHAIRMAN MAO TO XI JINPING
this path-breaking history limelight outside China. Roger Faligot
of virology, Lal presents in- Faligot’s account is a HARPER COLLINS
valuable information about serious and detailed work Rs.699
the invisible rulers of our to uncover the pervasive 616 pages
Planet. This work of scien- presence of the secret ser-
tific enquiry and research vice in Chinese society as
is highly recommended for well as the world beyond.
a greater understanding of Guoanbu, the short China in 1997. The Tianan- In-depth research
the planetary ecosystem form of Guojia Anquanbu, men protests of 1989 and scholarship have
and of the incredible ways i.e, ministry of state however, dented the image made this book a
in which unseen microbes security, was formed in of Deng Xiaoping in the fascinating account of
orchestrate life on earth. the early 1980s under the western world and appre- the role of intelligence
Lal’s closing advice supervision of the great hensions emerged about services in China
is that viruses are our reformer Deng Xiaoping. the future of Hong Kong. during the turbulent
friends. They are the em- This was the fifth mod- However, it was prime past century
perors of this planet. Don’t ernisation silently initiated minister Zhou Enlai, who
mess with them. by Deng together with the had laid the foundations
ANIL THAKORE famous four modernisa- of the Guoanbu. During were working in 170 cities
tions of industry, agricul- his long innings as the in 50 countries worldwide.
Guoanbu secret ture, science and technol- prime minister of China book has four chapters
The second part of the
ogy, and military. Deng
(1949-1976), he was chief
service got rid of Maoist influence diplomat in charge of detailing the expansion of
intelligence services under
China’s diplomatic mis-
in the intelligence service
by rebuilding it through sions abroad and foreign Jiang Zemin, Chinese secret
HE RISE OF A na- the Guoanbu. After Deng policy. The success of the agents’ entry into Afghani-
tion in international passed on in 1997, his 1949 Revolution was used stan, growing cooperation
Tpolitics is measured successor Jiang Zemin in a masterly way by Zhou between the Russian and
by its hard and soft power, paid special attention to in spreading the influence Chinese intelligence agen-
and the effectiveness of its new domains such as cyber of the CPC in most of the cies, economic espionage in
intelligence services. It is warfare, which is now one third world countries as the era of globalisation, and
surprising that discussions of the major strengths of well as in courting East the rise of the Falun Gong
on the rise of China in the China’s secret service. European governments. movement.
21st century have been The book is divided into In India, Zhou executed Following Russian with-
centred more on its hard three parts. The first part Mao’s orders to support drawal from Afghanistan
and soft power, but barely comprises six chapters, the Naxalite movement in the 1990s, China was the
on the Chinese intelligence which narrate the complex and encourage splinter only important player in
service. The CIA of the details of the intelligence insurgent groups in India’s Afghanistan with Pakistan.
United States, KGB of Rus- wing, how the intelligence North East region. Jiang Zemin’s China was
sia, MI6 of Britain, Mossad services were used by the After Zhou’s death quick to seize the oppor-
of Israel, DGSE of France, CPC (Communist Party of in 1976, Deng Xiaoping tunity to entrench its spies
Naicho of Japan, and even China) leadership from the mentored the intelligence network in Afghanistan
MJIB of Taiwan, as well as days of the Long March system and ruthlessly used which proved very useful
RAW in India, are well- to the Tiananmen pro- it to consolidate domes- after the US-led invasion
known names in the world tests, and preparations tic power and promote of the country toppled the
of spies and espionage. On for the takeover of Hong Chinese foreign policy. Taliban in 2001.
the other hand, China’s Kong from the British. In According to Faligot, In 2003, China wit-
Guoanbu is rarely men- 1984, the Ministry of State China infiltrated Guoanbu nessed the first peaceful
tioned in international Security was restructured operatives into multina- transfer of power from
relations discussions. as Guoanbu and deployed tional firms in developed Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao.
This vacuum is sub- in Hong Kong to prepare countries. He cites high- The new regime diversified
stantially filled by Roger the ground for the peaceful ranking officials to state the intelligence service.
Faligot in this book under transfer of the island to that in 1997, Chinese spies Economic issues such as

336 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2022