Every bear is dangerous. Pandas’ looks deceive. They are bears.
Synopsis
Claws of the Panda tells the story of Canada’s failure to construct a workable policy towards the People’s Republic of China. In particular, the book tells of Ottawa’s failure to recognize and confront the efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate and influence Canadian politics, academia, and media, and to exert control over Canadians of Chinese heritage.
Claws of the Panda gives a detailed description of the CCP’s campaign to embed agents of influence in Canadian business, politics, media and academia. The party’s aims are to be able to turn Canadian public policy to China’s advantage, to acquire useful technology and intellectual property, to influence Canada’s international diplomacy, and, most importantly, to be able to monitor and intimidate Chinese Canadians and others it considers dissidents.
The book traces the evolution of the Canada-China relationship over nearly 150 years. It shows how Canadian leaders have constantly misjudged the reality and potential of the relationship while the CCP and its agents have benefited from Canadian naivete.
Richard’s comments
Almost frightening in its implications and portends, Claws of the Panda cannot be dismissed as trivial journalism or right-wing fear mongering. Far from it, the novel, twenty-five years from its birth to its final delivery, is a serious opus expounding on the might, economic, social and political tentacles the Chinese Communist Party extends throughout the entire world, no region too rural, too local, too small.
Heavy reading
For someone with a working background relating to modern Chinese history, the political leaders of China to day and their representatives and business agents throughout the world, the book is a chronological log of who is who and who is what not just in the Chinese world but in other systems which connect to that world. If one is somewhat familiar with these figures, reading is enlightening and elucidating; unfamiliarity pulls one down into tedium and minutiae.
Heavy lifting
Author Manthorpe does the heavy lifting after decades of sweat and tears with research that brings incredible depth and up to date information gleaned from news sources, news networks and even government ministers. Manthorpre pulls back the blinds on the corruption and vile business/political practices tainted by contact with China. Every country is scented with the odour of this CCP corruption, even Canada though the depth may not be to the extent one knows it can go.
Claws of the Panda
This book is about crime, espionage, spy networks, money laundering and everything that smacks of this kind of evil. Worse, Manthorpe cautions that what we are reading about now is merely the surface of the network the Panda is developing.
In light of current events in Hong Kong, and the related demonstrations and protests in rest of the world, the book is an eye opener and a wake up call. The Canadian government is portrayed as naive, innocent and unsophisticated in these new political relationships. Our government is too trusting and incorrectly believes our better ethical political system will win the day. The Chinese Communist Party knows it and the United States is warning us. Ottawa, time to move your butts.
