Lilley, James, with Jeffrey Lilley. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. Lilley, James, with Jeffrey Lilley. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia. New York: Public Affairs, 2004.
Nathan, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2004, notes that "James Lilley served on the operations side of the CIA, working on China, from 1951-74. He then switched to analysis and diplomacy, serving as U.S. representative in Taipei in 1982-84 and ambassador in Beijing in 1989-91, among other posts."
To Peake, Studies 48.4 (2004), James Lilley's life is "a moving, exciting, and informative adventure." The book "is a pleasure to read and a valuable contribution to the literature of intelligence." For Pye, FA, May-Jun. 2004, the author provides "the inside story of U.S. policymaking in a keen, clear-eyed manner." Rawnsley, I&NS 20.3 (Sep. 2005), comments that the author provides "a gripping description of American covert operations in Asia" and "a fascinating vista from which to view the evolution of America's China policy."
Halloran, Parameters 34.4 (Winter 2004-05), finds that the author "strolls down memory lane in an account of his childhood in China.... He ranges over his education at Yale and his intelligence work in Japan, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, although without telling much about operations there." And he "recounts his close affiliation with George Bush the Elder." However, "[t]he cohesive thread woven through this well-written memoir ... is Lilley’s association with China."
Lim,
Benjamin Kang. "China Executes Two for Spying for Taiwan." Washington
Post, 14 Sep. 1999, A23. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
"China has executed an army general and a colonel after they were found guilty of selling state secrets to Taiwan for at least $1.6 million, military sources said, describing the case as the biggest spying scandal in Communist China's 50-year history."
Lunev, Stanislav. "China's
Intelligence Machine." Insight on the News, 17 Nov. 1997, 17-19.
ProQuest: The author "provides background information on Beijing's goals and methods" in its intelligence operations in the United States.
National Intelligence Council. Eds., John K. Allen, Jr., John Carver, and Tom Elmore. Intro., Robert L. Suettinger. Tracking the Dragon: National Intelligence Estimates on China During the Era of Mao, 1948-1976. Washington, DC: NIC 2004-05, Oct. 2004.
This hefty volume contains 37 formerly classified National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) and Special National Intelligence Estimates (SNIEs) on China. The accompanying CD has an additional 34 such documents. Robert L. Suettinger's "Introduction" to the collection provides excellent and concise context. The print version is also available on the NIC Public Web site at http://www.dni.gov/nic/NIC_foia_china.html.
Richelson,
Jeffrey T. Foreign Intelligence Organizations. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger,
1988.
NameBase: Richelson "offers organization-chart overviews of the services of several countries, and summaries of some of the current issues. Included [is] ... China (ILD, UFWD, MSS, MID, New China News Agency).
Cline, PSQ 104.1: "Given the uneven quality of the information available to him, Richelson has done a skillful job of weaving together a systematic description of the secret intelligence agencies of eight important nations.... This ... publication is a reference tool that, despite its limitations, will be handy on the shelf for any researcher dealing regularly with the arcane world of secret intelligence."
Robinson, Edward A.,
with Ann Harrington. "China's Spies Target Corporate America."
Fortune, 30 Mar. 1998.
The "scope and depth" of China's spying in the United States is "only beginning to be understood.... [O]ver the past several years Chinese-backed industrial spying has increased dramatically against U.S. business.... [T]he American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), an association for corporate-security types, found that America business now sees China as its No. 1 foreign economic-espionage threat."
Safire,
William. "I Remember Larry." New York Times, 2 Jan. 1997,
A19.
In the midst of President Clinton's Asian money flap, Safire recalls the role of Larry Wu-tai Chin, the CIA employee who was arrested in 1985 and convicted of espionage on behalf of the People's Republic of China. Safire suggests that China is certainly interested in learning U.S. trade secrets and in influencing U.S. trade policy.
Sawyer, Ralph D., with Mei-Chu Lee Sawyer. The Tao of Deception: Unorthodox Warfare in Historic and Modern China. New York: Basic Books, 2007.
Peake, Studies 51.4 (2007), notes that the author "acknowledges the use of deception in the West, but he contends it is not yet as integrated into military thinking and planning as it is in China." This book is not easy reading. However, "for those who are concerned about China’s historic and contemporary approaches to intelligence and deception operations, it is worth the effort."
For Arpin, NWCR 61.1 (Winter 2008), the author "has produced an enlightening study of the beginnings and the evolution of deception in Chinese political and military history.... The book abounds with examples of how a little deception or unconventional application can have a great effect on outcomes.... This book reads well. A dynastic chronology helps place the events in historical (Chinese, if not world) context. However, maps would have greatly assisted understanding."
Bartholomees, Parameters 38.1 (Spring 2008), notes that "the book is really a study of the history of the Chinese concept of unorthodox warfare." Basically, the author "interprets the tao of deception as doing everything imaginable to put your enemy in the most disadvantageous position possible before fighting.... If Sawyer’s book disappoints, it is in the comparative scarcity of its analysis of modern Chinese military thought. Less than 30 pages deal directly with the subject—although there are scattered modern references throughout the book."
Sawyer, Ralph D. The Tao of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory and Practice in Traditional China. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1998.
Cohen, FA 77.6, notes that this work consists of "substantial translations of and commentaries on classic Chinese texts ... on early Chinese history, espionage, covert action, theories of intelligence assessment, military intelligence, and divination."
For Paschall, MHQ Review, Spring 1999, this work "is written in a professional and straightforward manner.... [I]t reveals early Chinese thinking about a vital craft that can save lives and extend a nation's reach and purpose."
Arpin, NWCR 60.1 (Winter 2007), finds that "[t]his work is not without flaws." It "assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of traditional Chinese history and culture; some sections may be hard going for the casual reader. Parts of the book are rather dry," reflecting "the extensive translations more than the author’s style. But for serious students of China, intelligence tradecraft, or information operations, this book provides essential understanding of contemporary Chinese statecraft."
Wise, David, and Thomas B. Ross. The Espionage Establishment. New York: Random House, 1967. London: Jonathan Cape, 1968. New York: Bantam Books, 1968. [pb]
Clark comment: This work garnered widespread attention when it was published, basically because it provided in a popular format information that many people had not previously seen. The authors discuss the espionage systems of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the United States, and China, and present some relatively interesting material on Soviet illegals.
Pforzheimer says the book's "section on the CIA is weak; however the chapter on the British intelligence services reveals considerably more than had previously been published. Comments on the Chinese intelligence services and activities are of little or no value."
The absence of source citations and a bibliography bothers Constantinides, but he still finds that the sections on the Soviet Union and Great Britain "are marked by some good material."
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