{"product_id":"the-truth-about-china-by-bill-birtles-9781760879860","title":"The Truth About China","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"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.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBill 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA journalist's perspective on this rising global power has never been more important, as Australia's relationship with China undergoes an extraordinary change. This includes the detention of journalist Cheng Lei, Canberra's criticism of Beijing's efforts to crush Hong Kong's freedoms, China's military activity in the South China Sea, and its human rights violations targeting the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang province.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChronicling 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Truth About China\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46846679154924,"sku":"9781760879860","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/26185543482814.jpg?v=1758917292","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-truth-about-china-by-bill-birtles-9781760879860","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}