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The Beijing Bureau
The Beijing Bureau is a collection of essays revealing the experiences and insights of twenty-five Australian foreign correspondents into China, from the 1970s to present day: the lives of its people, its government and its culture, and what China's rise means for Australia and the world community.
China dominates the headlines across the world as the country takes for itself a global role. As governments, businesses and individuals increasingly rely on news reports to make decisions, The Beijing Bureau brings together Australia’s most acclaimed journalists to share their hard-won knowledge of China and stories of life as a correspondent: including Mike Smith, Stan Grant, Stephen McDonnell, Rowan Callick and Richard McGregor, reporting for international news outlets like the ABC, The New York Times, the BBC, CNN and more.
Vital political and trading relationships are changing – China is flexing its muscles internationally, through the Belt and Road Initiative and trading relationships, through Wolf Warrior diplomacy, through the control of the diaspora and militarily. At home in China, the country is intensifying its hold and extending patriotism; at the same time, Chinese people are experiencing prosperity unrivalled in their history. With essays that cover a range of subjects and written by journalists who have worked and lived in China, The Beijing Bureau provides readers with a thoughtful perspective of this powerful nation.
China dominates the headlines across the world as the country takes for itself a global role. As governments, businesses and individuals increasingly rely on news reports to make decisions, The Beijing Bureau brings together Australia’s most acclaimed journalists to share their hard-won knowledge of China and stories of life as a correspondent: including Mike Smith, Stan Grant, Stephen McDonnell, Rowan Callick and Richard McGregor, reporting for international news outlets like the ABC, The New York Times, the BBC, CNN and more.
Vital political and trading relationships are changing – China is flexing its muscles internationally, through the Belt and Road Initiative and trading relationships, through Wolf Warrior diplomacy, through the control of the diaspora and militarily. At home in China, the country is intensifying its hold and extending patriotism; at the same time, Chinese people are experiencing prosperity unrivalled in their history. With essays that cover a range of subjects and written by journalists who have worked and lived in China, The Beijing Bureau provides readers with a thoughtful perspective of this powerful nation.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2021
25 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 22, 2021
Great history of Australian journalists in China. In particular I enjoyed reading the chapter by Stan Grant and I didn't realise that some of the journalists had worked in China so that was interesting to learn.
did-not-finish
August 3, 2023DNF @71% on kindle. Just CBF.
Better shit to read.
Better shit to read.
September 26, 2025
Some insight into the experiences of Australian journalists trying to report in China despite suspicion and a desire for control over how the government should be portrayed. Overall the themes of the pointed to the general public being more open and willing to talk to foreigners whilst government officials and police were more cautious and sometimes even threatening to outsiders.
Some background information about Chairman Mao and the rise of Xi Jinping was dotted throughout but it was a bit fragmented and some prior knowledge would be helpful. Adds to the idea that China and its leadership was and remains still a bit elusive to those in the West.
Didn't learn anything new in particular and some of the stories were really short so I did not know what the point of those ones were. Otherwise the stories were in mostly chronological order and commented on some major points from the Western and Australian perspective.
Some background information about Chairman Mao and the rise of Xi Jinping was dotted throughout but it was a bit fragmented and some prior knowledge would be helpful. Adds to the idea that China and its leadership was and remains still a bit elusive to those in the West.
Didn't learn anything new in particular and some of the stories were really short so I did not know what the point of those ones were. Otherwise the stories were in mostly chronological order and commented on some major points from the Western and Australian perspective.
October 12, 2021
24 chapters of the chilling reading re the development from the time of Mao Zedong of the totalitarian state seeking protection behind the fig leaf of nationalistic socialism for the hyper capitalism and ubiquitously surveilled society devoid of human rights, that is China of today.
Moa stated “seek truth from facts”. Yet what is truth in a society that changes the past and “official truth” in justification of the present and the planned future? Bao ruo-wang. In Maoist China it was the past that was unpredictable. It remains in existence to this day.
24 chapters of daunting experiences of Australian journalists from 1973 to 2020, unfortunately book ended in this readers opinion, by a further example the myopic narcissist and blatantly sycophantic apologist mouth piece of the CCP, that the final author has become.
A work very worthy of your time, attention and consideration.
Moa stated “seek truth from facts”. Yet what is truth in a society that changes the past and “official truth” in justification of the present and the planned future? Bao ruo-wang. In Maoist China it was the past that was unpredictable. It remains in existence to this day.
24 chapters of daunting experiences of Australian journalists from 1973 to 2020, unfortunately book ended in this readers opinion, by a further example the myopic narcissist and blatantly sycophantic apologist mouth piece of the CCP, that the final author has become.
A work very worthy of your time, attention and consideration.
July 9, 2025
Pretty fascinating collection of stories from Australian journalists over the course of the last century from the ground in China.
Covering Mao Zedong up to the modern age led by the imperialist Xi Jinping we get a look under the hood and what it’s like to be an international correspondent and report on one of the least well known major powers in the world.
Stan Grant’s story as the final chapter was particularly moving - speaking from his own experience as an Indigenous Australian and correspondent on how he experienced China.
Covering Mao Zedong up to the modern age led by the imperialist Xi Jinping we get a look under the hood and what it’s like to be an international correspondent and report on one of the least well known major powers in the world.
Stan Grant’s story as the final chapter was particularly moving - speaking from his own experience as an Indigenous Australian and correspondent on how he experienced China.
May 26, 2021
Some of it is very good, but some of it is very bad. Fantastic concept though, so bumped up to four.
The older stuff about setting up the bureau and being one of few foreign corros kicking about, or odd ways of travelling to provinces and especially the stories about Chinese Australians and the additional stressors (and benefits!) of the job are excellent.
Some of it is pure pus that shows our media is, alongside our government, the only people belligerent enough to pick a war with China.
The older stuff about setting up the bureau and being one of few foreign corros kicking about, or odd ways of travelling to provinces and especially the stories about Chinese Australians and the additional stressors (and benefits!) of the job are excellent.
Some of it is pure pus that shows our media is, alongside our government, the only people belligerent enough to pick a war with China.
Read
June 1, 2021Highly enjoyed this, great insight into what being a journalist was like in China during the last few decades. Each journalist explained the the hoops that they have had to overcome in order to do their jobs, and how their interactions with both the government and local Chinese people could change rapidly with new leadership. Amazing to see how China swung between different levels of censorship and suppression throughout these periods of turbulence. I would have loved to have been a foreign correspondent during these times, seemed so wild.
May 27, 2021
Fascinating read - loved the sequencing of all the different testimonies and the Stan Grant piece at the end was really poignant. Wished the book was longer!
November 20, 2022
Pretty good set of articles. Stan Grants is the worst one.
July 18, 2023
China is arguably the biggest story of the 21st century. Presently Australia’s biggest trading partner, everything it does seems to have considerable impact on us. Managing our relations with China is as pivotal a task for our government as accommodating our biggest ally, the United States.
As suggested by Trevor Watson and Melissa Roberts, editors of The Beijing Bureau: 25 Australian correspondents reporting China’s rise (2021), if Australia is to get China right, then we “must have an understanding of China delivered by journalists able to view the Middle Kingdom through a prism of Australian priorities, standards and values – and from an Australian perspective”.
With Australia now being the only major power in the world not to have journalists on the ground in China, it may seem difficult to comprehend the mindset of our powerful and complicated northern neighbour. However, it does not and should not stop us from wanting to know more, about what happened, is happening and will happen in that country.
The Beijing Bureau arrives at a good time as Australia struggles to walk a fine line between America as a superpower and its formidable Chinese counterpart. The journalists collected in this book offer valuable insights into the making of China from the 1970s up to the present day.
These journalists share their hard-won knowledge of China and bittersweet stories of life as a correspondent. Among them are household names such as Chris Buckley, Helene Chung, Stan Grant, Jane Hutcheon, Hamish McDonald, Stephen McDonell, Uli Schmetzer and Mark Smith, just to name a few. It’s exciting to read the first Australian journalists in China in 1973, soon after the Whitlam Government shifted its formal recognition from Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists in Taiwan to Mao Zedong’s communist regime as the legitimate government of all of China.
While a section of the book is dedicated to coverage of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, there’s also in-depth and detailed analysis of the treatment of Uyghurs of Xinjiang and the legacy of democracy movement in Hong Kong. Equally informative is Part Four, where eight journalists from renowned Australian and international news organisations explain how China managed to alleviate millions from poverty while rising as a global economic powerhouse in merely two decades.
In the words of Ali Moore: “In the early 1990s there was a clear, if unspoken, pact with the people: to get rich is glorious, as long as it’s accompanied by unquestioning loyalty to the Party.” That, and Richard McGregor’s quote – “The Party is like God. He is everywhere. You just can’t see him” – shed ample light on how Beijing maintains control of the hearts and minds of nearly 1.4 billion people.
The Beijing Bureau is an essential and engaging read for all who care about Australia-China relations. Not only because it chronicles the history of Australian journalism in China, but it also enhances our understanding of that country, the lives of its people, its government and culture, and what its ambition means to Australia and the world.
Note: This book review was originally published under the title “Oz eyes on China” by Ranges Trader Star Mail, September 7, 2021, P.12.
As suggested by Trevor Watson and Melissa Roberts, editors of The Beijing Bureau: 25 Australian correspondents reporting China’s rise (2021), if Australia is to get China right, then we “must have an understanding of China delivered by journalists able to view the Middle Kingdom through a prism of Australian priorities, standards and values – and from an Australian perspective”.
With Australia now being the only major power in the world not to have journalists on the ground in China, it may seem difficult to comprehend the mindset of our powerful and complicated northern neighbour. However, it does not and should not stop us from wanting to know more, about what happened, is happening and will happen in that country.
The Beijing Bureau arrives at a good time as Australia struggles to walk a fine line between America as a superpower and its formidable Chinese counterpart. The journalists collected in this book offer valuable insights into the making of China from the 1970s up to the present day.
These journalists share their hard-won knowledge of China and bittersweet stories of life as a correspondent. Among them are household names such as Chris Buckley, Helene Chung, Stan Grant, Jane Hutcheon, Hamish McDonald, Stephen McDonell, Uli Schmetzer and Mark Smith, just to name a few. It’s exciting to read the first Australian journalists in China in 1973, soon after the Whitlam Government shifted its formal recognition from Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalists in Taiwan to Mao Zedong’s communist regime as the legitimate government of all of China.
While a section of the book is dedicated to coverage of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, there’s also in-depth and detailed analysis of the treatment of Uyghurs of Xinjiang and the legacy of democracy movement in Hong Kong. Equally informative is Part Four, where eight journalists from renowned Australian and international news organisations explain how China managed to alleviate millions from poverty while rising as a global economic powerhouse in merely two decades.
In the words of Ali Moore: “In the early 1990s there was a clear, if unspoken, pact with the people: to get rich is glorious, as long as it’s accompanied by unquestioning loyalty to the Party.” That, and Richard McGregor’s quote – “The Party is like God. He is everywhere. You just can’t see him” – shed ample light on how Beijing maintains control of the hearts and minds of nearly 1.4 billion people.
The Beijing Bureau is an essential and engaging read for all who care about Australia-China relations. Not only because it chronicles the history of Australian journalism in China, but it also enhances our understanding of that country, the lives of its people, its government and culture, and what its ambition means to Australia and the world.
Note: This book review was originally published under the title “Oz eyes on China” by Ranges Trader Star Mail, September 7, 2021, P.12.
December 16, 2021
An outstanding insight into Chinas history as perceived through the eyes of 25 Australian Foreign Correspondents. Refreshing descriptions of the attitude of the Chinese Communist rule and how it was reflected in the ordinary person. Sometimes open to talk to foreigners but more often closed.
The presence of the Foreign Correspondent from the end of the 19th century to the present day in 2021, is a study of colonial powers taking over China and the eventual reaping of that shame. Think Boxer Rebellion. George Morrison, an Australian was the first foreign correspondent to be based in Peking (Beijing) in 1897. He not only reported on the Boxer Rebellion but during the siege of Peking he helped rescue native Chinese Christians and foreign Christians from the brutal slaughter of the Boxers. Modern China is built on the memory of wounds. I’m sure not only China believes this.
Each of the 25 correspondents brought their own viewpoint, their own experience and time frame as they navigated a country not very easy to navigate.
The presence of the Foreign Correspondent from the end of the 19th century to the present day in 2021, is a study of colonial powers taking over China and the eventual reaping of that shame. Think Boxer Rebellion. George Morrison, an Australian was the first foreign correspondent to be based in Peking (Beijing) in 1897. He not only reported on the Boxer Rebellion but during the siege of Peking he helped rescue native Chinese Christians and foreign Christians from the brutal slaughter of the Boxers. Modern China is built on the memory of wounds. I’m sure not only China believes this.
Each of the 25 correspondents brought their own viewpoint, their own experience and time frame as they navigated a country not very easy to navigate.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews