The Truth About China: Propaganda, patriotism and the search for answers

by Bill Birtles

A thrilling and provocative account of unfolding tensions between China and the West, filled with the people, stories and sticky situations from Bill Birtles' five years as ABC correspondent.

'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.'

Bill 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.

A journalist's perspective on this rising global power has never been more important, as Australia's relationship with China undergoes an extraordinary change that's seen the detention of a journalist Cheng Lei, Canberra's criticism of Beijing's efforts to crush Hong Kong's freedoms, as well as China's military activity in the South China Sea and its human rights violations targeting the mostly Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang province. Chronicling 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.

The Truth About China 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.

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Politics

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2021

About the author

Bill Birtles was the ABC's China correspondent in Beijing from 2015 to 2020, his posting coming to a sudden end when he was rushed out of the country by Australian diplomats in an unprecedented diplomatic standoff. Reporting from both major cities and remote provinces throughout the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, he covered an era-defining period of change, upheaval and diplomatic tension as China asserted itself on the world stage. Originally from Sydney, Birtles first studied Mandarin in the Chinese capital and later worked inside the government's most important state media and propaganda organ, the Xinhua newsagency, before returning to Beijing for the ABC. He is now covering South-East Asia as the ABC's Indonesia Bureau Chief, based in Jakarta.

Reviews

[Asanga · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 - Great primer on recent Chinese political history and the background to the current thaw in Australia-China relations. Audiobook is well read, nicely written and captures lighthearted moments well.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘I’m calling to tell you that the Australian government wants to get you out of China.’

In September 2020, Bill Birtles sought refuge in the Australian Embassy in Beijing while his departure from China was negotiated with the Chinese government. He left China five days later, after spending five years there.

While I was expecting something different, something less personal and more detached, I appreciated Mr Birtles’s experiences, his insights into contemporary China and his thoughts about the future. Mr Birtles first went to China during a period of great optimism in 2008, when the Beijing Olympics caught the world’s attention. In 2015, when he returned to China for the ABC, China was a very different country. President Xi Jinping dominates China, and there are several contentious issues which have contributed to a deterioration in the relationship between China and Australia.

My interest is in how we manage these challenges in the future.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[KaHo Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty comprehensive look into what is behind the iron wall of China. The issues are fresh and up-to-date.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating read. In the same thread as my previously read book (The Last Correspondent by Michael Smith), Bill Birtles chronicles his experience as a Beijing based foreign journalist, with interesting encounters, frustrating experiences and a certain type of adventure that requires some degree of "caution-to-the-wind" kind of bravery.

[Ron Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book a day after the Chinese Ambassador spoke about how China may use force to invade Taiwan and a week after Pelosi made her visit to Taiwan. I have visited both China and Taiwan and have been interested in both country’s history and literature.
In the long distant past, I read Helene Chung’s Shouting from China and Jane Hutcheon’s reflections on her time as a China correspondent.
It was in the 1990s that I read Wild Swans by Jung Chang, Amy Tang Joy Luck Club and a number of other Chinese memoirs. Over the years I have dipped into books about the Long March, the rape of Nanking and China during the Cultural Revolution. I, like many in the West was under the illusion that as China grew economically it would develop a middle class and become a more liberal society. How wrong we were. Since Xi Jinping rise in 2012 it appears that the CCP has increased its grip on China and the direction the country is taking. Xi has taken a strangle hold on power and emphasised the role of the CCP in Chinese life. Yes, I agreed with the concept of the “100 years of Shame”, but I think its aggressive stifling of any dissent and its employment of wolf warrior diplomacy has contributed little to China being recognised as a decent world citizen.
I watched closely the reports of Bill Birtles departure from China. What bothered me was that there was little coverage in the Australian media about the ASIO raid on the Chinese journalist, Yang Jingzhong, the bureau chief for the state news agency Xinhua on June 26. Was the treatment of Birtles and Smith a matter of tit for tat?
Being a journalist Birtles can create a narrative that the reader can easily follow and enjoy. He introduces numerous people, Chinese and others throughout his story.
As you read the book you realise that Birtles has a passion for the country. His partner is Chinese and many of work associates are Chinese. Nevertheless he is highly critical of many of the aspects of China because of the behaviour of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It permeates every aspect of Chinese life. Propaganda plays a major role in developing attitudes among the Chinese populace but there are many who appreciate the achievements the country has made under the leadership of the CCP.
Birtles doesn’t come out and directly say it, but things have changed under the leadership of Xi Jingping. The state has become more autocratic and dictatorial. It has become more aggressive on the international stage in pursuing it's aims and goals.
Birtles chronicles the rise of, and then subjugation of the democracy movement in Hong Kong.
He deals with the COVID outbreak and China’s relationship with Taiwan.
I do not think the book’s title reflects what the themes of the book. A better title could have been found.
The book finishes where it started with his expulsion from China. Who knows when or if ever Australian journalists will be invited back into China. And who knows when, if ever Australia and China re-establish cordial relationship.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Congratulations Bill Birtles I really enjoyed your book as I have (and continue) to enjoy your ABC reports. There is a naïve honestly about your book. It really does give the impression that what you are saying is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in sharp contrast to a lot of what is coming out of China at the moment. You also provide an insight into the world of an ABC foreign correspondent and how you find stories. It is world I am familiar with as I started my working like as a very junior reporter on a daily newspaper. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants an informative and entertaining read.

[Percy Yue]

At first I thought this book is about Sino-Aussie relationship and the reason why the author was expelled from Chi na. I was stunned when a few chapters are on Hong Kong 2019. I felt touch and indeed cried when reading the chapter on the siege of Poly U. The destruction of my home town makes me heart wrenched.

Feel deeply grateful to the author and wish him have a beautiful bb now!

My motto after 2019 is "NEVER FORGIVE AND FORGET". In the past, I feel indifferent to the rule of CCP. After 2014 and then 2019, I shall teach my offspring about the atrocity of Chi na and CCP. Mainlanders have no relationship with Hong Kong and don't tell me our relationship is blood-tied. Both China and mainlanders did not deserve to have Hong Kong!

I just wish and hope one day Hong Kong will get independent and I can proudly say Hong Kong is my country.

[David Allwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part political and economic text, part autobiography, part journalists diary, this book offers an enticing story of the behind the scenes life of a journalist in a foreign land. Bill Birtles was the Australian ABC network’s China correspondent throughout the period of recent decline in relations between the two nations, the Chinese tightening of control over Hong Kong, and the Wuhan outbreak that started the global coronavirus pandemic. The author provides credible insights into each of these developments as well as sharing his role in reporting these events to the Australian people. Well written and genuinely engaging, this is a timely book and a great introduction to the current complexity of Chinese-Australian relations.

[Ian Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australian journalist Bill Birtles gives insightful accounts of the highlights of his posting at the ABC's Beijing bureau, right up till the time the Australian Embassy shepherded his exit just ahead of possible arrest.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good easy to read book. Nothing that I don't already know about what and how China controls the media so controls the population. With technological advance, using its economic power to silence foreign countries, China's power seems limitless. The brutality in its management of dissenting voices effectively silences any opposition - within and outside the country. It is worrying that people within the country are so completely shielded from opposing views, that they are developing true beliefs that other countries/ people / the west, are just picking on China, cementing the antiwest sentiment.

It is difficult to see how the situation can be changed. Quite frankly I do not see Australia to have any hope of standing up to the economic power China wields. The dark control of China seems inevitable to grow. I hope to find a book that provides some hope soon...

[Kevin casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

I’m not a great fan of the ABC, too biased, so I found this book well written by someone who had lived and experienced China from the inside. Great insight and riveting read

[Matthijs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uninspiring and dull account of several years of China experiences by Aussie journalist Bill Birtles. Birtles never really seemed to venture beyond what Western media expect a journalist in China to report on. If anything becomes apparent to the reader in this book, it's Birtles' superficial understanding and representation of Chinese politics and economics (which adds truly nothing to anyone with only a rudimentary knowledge of contemporary China), as well as an impression Birtles leaves behind (coming from a fellow foreigner who has lived in the same surroundings in the same time period) of a journalist who during his assignment slash life in China was never able to get rid of his feelings of Western disassociation (and possibly, but I'll tread lightly with this impression, superiority over) with a regime and culture that does things radically differently.

China critiques are still all too easily drafted in front of Western audiences, and laziness unfortunately keeps being rewarded as the few experts who truly aim to uncover Birtles' "Truth about China" remain unread or fail to market their insights successfully to a broader audience. Given the worrying tendency of an increasingly aggravated and hostile relationship between the Western powers and China, such short-cut analyses will likely keep on flooding the bookshelves for the foreseeable future and keep on simplifying an incredibly complex country and its actions to a lay audience. If anything, Birtles' claimed "search for answers" is far from over.

[Ineke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good holiday read, despite giving me a bad dream about Xi Jinping one night.

[Okimura1170 · Rating 3 out of 5]

a light tale by the ABC correspondent whisked out of China by DFAT in 2020. The claim to fame is he and the AFR reporter were about to arrested by PRC authorities and had to be "extracted" very quickly.
He covers his exit in the early chapters, and then the book goes all the way back to his first visit to China and subsequent career for various organisations incl a Xinhua subsidiary before landing at the ABC. A collection of stories with an emphasis on the Hong Kong riots of 2019/20, and naturally does not think the best of the PRC government.
Rather light weight , cash in on fame book. 3 stars

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A personal insight from the abc foreign correspondent. The first chapter about his speedy exit from China read like a thriller. The last chapters are reflective and provide real insight. A good read.

[Laurie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, this wasn't good. I don't begrudge the man, but this is clearly a book written for a pay check.

Often, when people write they create a facsimile of themselves; one that isn't really reflective of who they are, as a protagonist to take their readers through the story. I believe this is what has happened here. At least, I hope so, because Mr Birtles does not come across well. Having read his work on the ABC, I know for a fact he is a very good journalist - I am commenting here on how he is portrayed in his book.

Mr Birtles doesn't do much to portray himself well to his readers. He starts off complaining about being posted to Beijing, and how he would much rather be in Shanghai. He then complains about diplomatic consular personnel. He complains that he doesn't have enough to do. Later in the book, he complains quite a bit about stories and scoops he missed.

But perhaps most concerningly, he mentions numerous cases where he puts contacts at risk. First, there is a human rights advocate he gets to walk back and forth in front of a prison while he films them as a crowd gathers, ultimately calling the police. The, there is a young student fixer with him during the Siege of Poly U in Hong Kong, even as she is panicking about what will happen to her. He prefaces these cases by saying that he knows he is putting them at risk, but he doesn't take action on this knowledge. Like this acknowledgement alone absolves him. But it doesn't.

The stories of Mr Birtles time in Beijing as a correspondent are alright, but nothing that a mandarin-speaking expat with interest would not be able to find out themselves. His interviews with the Migrant Children's Foundation, and stories of their students are nice. His stories about imprisoned human rights defenders are also alright, though equal time is spent discussing himself as his subjects. The most interesting part of the book would probably be his descriptions of the Hong Kong protest movement, and the background story of the gradual chilling out of Australian correspondents.

I appreciate that Mr Birtles five years in Beijing was cut short by coronavirus, but it compared to books written by other journalists (Evan Osnos, Leslie Chang, Peter Hessler, Josh Kurlanzik, Ian Johnson, Barbara Demick, Alec Ash), this book contributes very little.

Recommended for only those without much knowledge of China, and are interested in the story of the two evacuated Australian journalists in particular. Beyond that, there isn't much here.

[Genevieve · Rating 2 out of 5]

With such a dramatic cover and title, I truly had high expectations for book which, on the surface, implied that it was going to be a deep dive into the China’s political and societal facets. What I walked away with was a rather incomplete experience.

As an accredited journalist employed by Australia’s ABC, Bill Birtles certainly has the credentials, but this book was basic and rather subjective in its approach, which is why I cannot give it anything more than two stars.

Why? It has way too many glaring omissions…

1) China’s social credit score system — not even mentioned once
2) China’s increasing collaboration w Russia —not even mentioned once
3) 1.8 million ethnic Uighurs and other religious minorities locked up in camps — mentioned here or there but not comprehensively examined or understood in its proper context
4) The sudden spike in donation organs from China in the last 4 years —not even mentioned once

The list could easily go on.

In particular, the chapter on the global pandemic was riddled with generalisations, and the author demonstrated a lack of understanding of the American system of government, which has a Center for Disease Control that offers recommendations, but does not have authority over 50 semi-sovereign states.

So, in other words, Michigan is responsible for Michigan’s pandemic response, New York is responsible for New York’s response and so on.

The author laid the blame for U.S. COVID deaths at the feet of President Trump, but there are obviously major flaws in this logic. (Plus, now that more people died in ‘21 than ‘20, I don’t think Mr. Birtles is going to come out with an updated edition and lay those deaths at the feet of President Biden anytime soon, let’s be honest.)

As for Birtles’ analysis of China’s COVID response, I’m glad that he did mention that it’s government was indeed dramatically welding the doors shut of several apartment buildings to keep residents at bay. However, in terms of Birtles’ acceptance of China’s mortality figures…This is a country that committed genocide of its own people during Mao’s Great Leap Forward from 1958-62, in which the now-accepted astounding total of 40 million people tragically perished due to government measures.

Birtles can accept their statistical figures, but I think a more skeptical view would have helped this book appear more credible, given that nation’s history, recent and otherwise.

In closing, this book should have really been titled “China: Subjective Musings from my five years as a resident and journalist.” It’s a memoir, really, and will likely not satisfy the quest for clear understanding of their ways at all.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book 📚

Quite the story, Bill Birtles chronicles his time in China brilliantly. His writing style is fantastic, striking the fine balance of simple and deep writing, making for very easy and engaging reading. The content is fantastic, documenting his constant struggle of working in an environment where free speech is routinely stifled, even punished with jail terms.

However, I will say that it does climax early, that along with the ill-fitting title are my only criticisms. The title ‘The Truth About China’ doesn’t seem to fit the story. ‘The Truth About China’ title seems like it will be a tell-all book about the finer inner-workings of the Chinese government, when really the book was about the forced expulsion of an Australian journalist from China and the consequential upending of his and his family’s life.

Regardless, a fantastic read that I greatly recommend to anyone looking to understand the attitude towards foreign journalists in China as well as a foreigner in China.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Birtles is a familiar name & face among ABC viewers and his testimony about China and its development and attitudes towards the free world is revealing and challenging. In reaching out to a developing China last century, Australia placed herself in a neighbourly position. Unfortunately, the politics And trade became the dominant force and as a result we have a clash of ethos between the free and unfree world. I appreciated the glimpses into the ‘real’ people of China that Bill gave. I feel better informed about the Chinese government authoritative and nationalistic methodology of keeping its citizens compliant. A wonderful country of people in a world very different the free, easy and tolerant Australia in which I live. I certainly expect as little understanding of Australian culture from Chinese leaders, as they can expect from me. However, I am free to learn more to understand better - I can’t say that for those in China.

[Luke Illeniram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nuanced inside look into China by ABC Foreign Correspondence journalist Bill Birtles who rose to some level of fame when he and another Australian journalist were rushed out of China amid growing political tension with China.

This book is great in its very level headed look at China, both in regard to things that are much better than most of the western world perceive (ie the police treatment of HK protests for the first year or so), and things that are actually far worse (ie the treatment of other races in the country, and the absolute censure of so much material).

Worth reading to get a better perspective on how China has changed over the last 15 years into a far more closed off, authoritarian country with far less chance of joining the mainstream than the China of the 08 Olympics.

[Graham Mcmillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good and important book. It reveals the full fact and impact of Chinese propoganda, the absolute control of the press - what is reported, how it is reported, and just as importantly, what is not reported on at all. The communist control over the narrative of world and Chinese events is absolute. It is small wonder the Chinese citizenry and Australian citizenry cannot understand one another - they have been fed an entirely different storyline.
It's a sobering look at the world's biggest rising power, and what is in store for Australia and countries like it, when they report facts which are inconvenient to the Chinese narrative. The author was in a uniquely strong position to report on this situation and the unraveling of relations between the two countries.

[Jeremy Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth About China is a memoir written in 2021 by Australian journalist Bill Birtles.
There were a few reasons I wanted to read this book - as an ABC (Aussie-Born Chinese) who regularly listens to the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the national broadcaster), I had become familiar with Birtles through his stories on China, some of which can be found on YouTube. As an armchair historian who has watched relations sour between Australia and China over the last five or so years, I was keen to learn about how Birtles viewed the development from his perspective as an outsider within the authoritarian state.

[David Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book written in the prose you would expect from a journalist. I'm not sure I got "the truth" - perhaps "it's complicated" is the ironic conclusion to be drawn.

Bill's telling is entirely event driven and not a waxing philosophical so it's kinda a road trip, his humility and candour for his misjudgments, near misses reveals that courage, being always on the job, hard work and (let's face it ) good and back luck, is the backbone of a good story.

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave, bold, necessary. In this case, the title word 'truth' isn't overused. The first 40 pages or so were relatively light and less engaging, but once you get past the opening narrative and get into the real stuff of what China is like at the moment, then the book - forgive me the pun - really opens your eyes, really sings with raw facts and insightful analysis.

[Erin Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is really let down by the title!! out of the huge pile of australia-china books that came out this year, this is one of the best. i really really liked it. if you're not a huge reader of this sort of thing but want a really good pop read of the last few years of australia-china, this is it!!

[Frumenty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Bill Birtles should have worked a little harder on the title, which might make one suspect the book to be the work of a huckster with an axe to grind; it seems to imply that this book is the last word on the subject, which it is quite definitely not. Nevertheless, for a well balanced, well informed, and up-to-date assessment of China, one could do a lot worse. Recommended.

[Ashley Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating insights from Bills time in China. It felt like a fast paced light take on events, not going into lots of detail. This was helpful to get an idea of how things have changed over time Inside China, and how Australian relationships have changed.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and not at all like a non fiction book. Very interesting to read about China from someone who lived there for 5 years. Great coverage of Hong Kong situation plus covid and deterioration of Australia China relations. An important book giving some insight into this powerful country.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - easy to read, lively and funny although this is a somber subject. A must read for anyone confused about how the Australia China relationship has become so fractured - many lessons here.

[Imogen Inglis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book on China. Any journalist, political junky, or just interested Australian should read this book for a good, fulsome description of China from a firsthand account. The Audible is excellently performed by author.