Written with German sinologist Mareike Ohlberg and published around the world in 2020, Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World, argues that the CCP is determined to mould the world in its own image. The Party is hostile to democracy, press freedom, an independent judiciary, religious freedom and universal human rights and is actively promoting its authoritarian political system as superior to liberal democracy.
The authors describe the CCP’s ideological struggle with the West, and the Party’s division of the world into friends, enemies and those who can be won over. Hidden Hand details the way political, business and academic elites have been lured to Beijing’s corner while others are weighing up a devil’s bargain. Recent cases in Australia of universities restricting academic freedom to keep Beijing happy are chilling reminders of how even those who declare a commitment to free speech can find reasons to bend their principles.
Through its enormous economic power and covert influence operations, China is now weakening global institutions like the United Nations and aggressively targeting Western corporations and forcing them to succumb to its censorship. It is also threatening freedom of expression in the arts, theatre, book publishing and academic journals in Europe and north America. Some prestigious cultural institutions in the West have been won over and now practice artistic censorship. The book documents all of this in confronting detail. Several translations, including Chinese, Korean and Japanese, are in the pipeline.
“A remarkable book with a chilling message… The book’s convincing message is plain … Everyone must stay on their guard.” Will Hutton, The Guardian
“Hidden Hand is heavily sourced, crisply written and deeply alarming.” The Times
“Read this book. It will knock your socks off. … Hidden Hand should be required reading for our diplomats, intelligence analysts, military officers and businesspeople.” The Australian
