MCLC: illicit dirt (1)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: illicit dirt (1)
***********************************************************

This list of books accompanies the "illicit dirt" article posted a couple
of days ago. 

Kirk

==========================================================

Source: NYT (5/18/13):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/world/asia/exposes-of-chinas-elite-a-big-
lure-in-hong-kong.html

Banned in China, but Popular in Hong Kong
These are some of the books, prohibited in China, that have been selling
well in bookstores in Hong Kong, according to booksellers. While some
focus on present-day scandals, others look back at history. Related
Article » 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/world/asia/exposes-of-chinas-elite-a-big
-lure-in-hong-kong.html>

TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON
“The Looming Chinese Revolution” (中国大革命): Public discontent over
inequality and official corruption, and splits in the Communist Party
leadership are likely to coalesce in an unprecedented mass insurrection,
the book says.

POLLUTION CONSPIRACY
“The Great Move of China's Capital” (中国大迁都): Congestion and
environmental 
degradation in Beijing and surrounding areas have become so bad that the
Communist Party leadership has approved a plan to move the Chinese capital
by 2020, the book claims.

TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON
“2014: The Great Sino-Japanese War” (2014中日大战): Recent tensions with
Japan 
have inspired several books predicting war in the near future. "Top
Secret: Xi Jinping to launch war against Japan in 2014," declares the
cover. Inside, purported plans are outlined.

POLITICAL EXPOSE
“Scandals of the Standing Committee Seven” (七常委丑闻): A compendium of the
rumored misdeeds of all seven members of the Communist Party’s elite
Standing Committee: mistresses, illicit wealth and bogus academic
qualifications.

THE LIVES OF THE ELITE
“Sex Report on the Party Elite” (中国高官情色报告): The title says it all:
who has 
supposedly slept with whom, along with pictures and charts to explain the
complex dealings of the supposed mistresses.

THE LIVES OF THE ELITE
“The Most Beautiful First Lady of the Republic: An Illustrated Biography
of Peng Liyuan” (共和国最美的第一夫人；彭丽媛画传): There are already two
competing 
illustrated biographies of Peng Liyuan, the stylish wife of Chinese
President Xi Jinping. This one is a collection of pictures, stories and
gossip, about the first lady, who is famous in her own right as a singer
of patriotic ballads.

POLITICAL HISTORY
“Political Reform in 1980s China: Behind the Scenes” (中国八十年代政治改革的
台前幕后): 
Former party official Wu Wei was close to the center of power in the
1980s, and his book is a detailed history of the elite political strife
that culminated in the ousting of party chief Zhao Ziyang.

POLITICAL SCANDAL
“Bo Xilai in Prison” (狱中薄熙来): Bo Xilai, the former Politburo member,
was 
ousted after his wife was accused of poisoning a British businessman. This
book claims to offer details of his secretive arrest, detention and
interrogation.

POLITICAL SCANDAL
“Coup in the Central Military Commission” (中央军委之变): This book gives an
account of the alleged ousting and arrest of Xu Caihou, former vice
chairman of the Central Military Commission, whose failure to appear at
the annual national Parliament session this year prompted rumors.

TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON
“2014: The Great Collapse” (2014打崩溃): This best-selling book is the
boldest of the gloom and doom genre. A highly confidential report from the
leadership predicts that “China’s collapse is unavoidable,” the book
claims.

Text by CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY; Photos by LAM YIK FEI for The New York Times