Hegemon: China s Plan to Dominate Asia and the World

by Steven W. Mosher

For centuries, China had not only the largest population, but also the most advanced economy and the strongest army on earth. It saw itself as the Hegemon, the ever-expanding central power around which the world revolved. Steven Mosher believes that China still sees itself in these terms. In Hegemon, Mosher shows how the quest for domination has been something like an art form in Chinese statecraft, an enduring feature on the country's mysterious face that is often hidden from the west. Hegemon is a masterly inquiry into the ideas at the heart of Chinese culture and history. It is also as timely as today's headlines about Chinese efforts to influence U.S. elections and steal U.S. nuclear secrets and to establish China as a global superpower. A major work of scholarship and analysis, Hegemon reinforces Steven Mosher's reputation as one of our most thoughtful and provocative China Watchers. Maps, index, biography.

Genres: China, Politics, Nonfiction

193 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Steven W. Mosher is an internationally recognized authority on China and population issues, as well as an acclaimed author, speaker. He has worked tirelessly since 1979 to fight coercive population control programs and has helped hundreds of thousands of women and families worldwide over the years.

In 1979, Steven was the first American social scientist to visit mainland China. He was invited there by the Chinese government, where he had access to government documents and actually witnessed women being forced to have abortions under the new “one-child policy.” Mr. Mosher was a pro-choice atheist at the time, but witnessing these traumatic abortions led him to reconsider his convictions and to eventually become a practicing, pro-life Roman Catholic.

Steven has appeared numerous times before Congress as an expert in world population, China, and human rights abuses. He has also made TV appearances on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, 20/20, FOX and CNN news, as well as being a regular guest on talk radio shows across the nation.

Articles by Steve have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The Washington Post, National Review, Reason, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Freedom Review, Linacre Quarterly, Catholic World Report, Human Life Review, First Things, and numerous other publications.

Steven Mosher lives in Virginia with his wife, Vera, and their nine children.

Reviews

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book about China's global ambitions from a preeminent and very learned "China Watcher", and then be afraid; very afraid.

[Łukasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Książka z wyraźną tezą, pisana z pozycji jawnie proamerykańskiej. W sposób na tyle jaskrawy, że cierpi na tym wartość strony merytorycznej opracowania a co za tym idzie wiarygodność przytaczanych danych. Można mieć o to pretensje do autora gdyż wiele fragmentów książki prezentuje niewątpliwie realistyczne spojrzenie na kształt polityki zagranicznej oraz wewnętrznej Chin. Ta wewnętrzna niespójność sprawiła, że miałem wyraźny problem z oceną tekstu, z jednej strony świeży i trzeźwy z drugiej jednak wyraźnie polityzujący i niewiarygodny.

I tak ChRL to obecnie państwo - odradzający się Hegemon, niewolący własny naród oraz narody w sferze potencjalnego wpływu. Zasięg zaś tego wpływu w czasach współczesnych może być globalny. USA z kolei to oczywiście obrońca wolnego świata, piewca demokracji, najpotężniejsze państwo i wyjątkowy naród, którego szczególne posłannictwo powinno być uznane przez wszystkie pozostałe państwa i narody tak ze względów realnej siły jak i unikalnych przymiotów moralnych. Niestety im bardziej propagandowy charakter ma tekst tym mniejszy jest jego walor naukowy. Nie mogła już tego zmienić charakterystyka legizmu oraz zupełnie uzasadniona krytyka wielu posunięć chińskiego państwa na przestrzeni ostatnich kilkudziesięciu lat. Przykładem rzeczowości przytaczanych danych pozostanie zaś dla mnie powtórzenie informacji o chińskiej, masowej migracji do Syberii, które w polskiej debacie zupełnie przekonywająco dyskredytuje Pan dr Michał Lubina w książce "Niedźwiedź w cieniu Smoka".

[Troy Parfitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was rather skeptical of this book. I thought perhaps it was of the mindless "China bad" variety aimed at paranoiacs and/or Americans who sense China is a threat but aren't sure precisely why. My skepticism, as it turns out, was unwarranted. This is a very good book, and, with a bit tweaking, could have been an excellent one. To begin with, Mosher understands the Chinese mindset. The Chinese don't possess, for example, a linear view of history and they still consider themselves culturally superior to everyone everywhere. They were once a mighty empire and so will they be again. Or so they believe. The twentieth century was just a temporary setback, etc. China deeply resents the West, and the US in particular, and Mosher explains in detail why. This book is also jam packed with military information - statistics galore and loads of factoids about the modernization of the PLA. Indeed, it reads like a briefing in places. The volume of research is impressive and helps to concretize the writer's central claim. There are weak points, though. The author engages in some slippery slope thinking (first, China would reclaim nation/territory X, and then go on to nation/territory Y) and he employs "us and them" rhetoric too often in his narrative, i.e. 'We need to (do A) to prevent them from (doing B).' I don't think this is helpful, nor is it very academic. There are also several unqualified claims, and a few other problems, but overwhelmingly the book works.

When casual observers and leaders in the West comment on China, they often lack information and depth. Westerners tend to view China through a filter, applying their own system of thought to a culture and psyche they have little grasp of. What Mosher is especially good at is getting you to see the Chinese perspective. Although he never says so explicitly, a point he is trying to make is: it doesn't matter what the West thinks of China (friend, foe, other), it only matters what China thinks of the West. And they (especially the government) don't think very much of the West. To find out why, read this book.

They say the best books tell you what you already know, and so admittedly this added to my reading enjoyment. After living in the Chinese world for years, I had come to many of the same conclusions. Hegemon ought to be a handbook for government officials and heads of state - if it isn't already.

[Dave Swavely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo interesting! I read it as research for my upcoming novel Kaleidocide, which is the sequel to Silhouette: A Peacer Novel. I hope it's not all true, but it rings pretty true to me, the way Mosher reports it. I was already interested in the topic, but for me it read like a good novel.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'd say our foreign policy as regards China is naive, and needs some work. A pretty easy read, but you might not sleep at night. Published in 2000, this book turns out to be fairly prophetic of our current situation.

[Mitchell Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After nearly two decades of COIN, the US foreign policy machine may do well to review this book, see how it compares with current day environment, and lay out some lessons learned. Te US foreign policy as regards China today may be a bit naive.

[Taufan Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

-check it out @ my site- ;P

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my senior thesis in college (TEN years ago). Would be interested to go back and see how his predictions held up.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in 2000, books like this are quickly dated. Yet Mosher paints a valuable picture of China's historic drive for hegemon over a wide geographic territory.