Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing - Tapa dura

An intriguing study of the China as seen from the perspective of its dissidents profiles these opponents of China's official policies, reporting on exiles in California, religious dissidents in Beijing, the clash between cultural traditions and contemporary politics, the role of Taiwan, the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, and more. 20,000 first printing.

ge things happen when Chinese dynasties near their end. Dams break, earthquakes hit, clouds appear in the shape of weird beasts, rain falls in odd colors, and insects infest the countryside. These are the ill omens of moral turpitude and political collapse. While greed and cynicism poison the society from within, barbarians stir restlessly at the gates. Corrupt officials, whose authority can no longer rely on the assumption of superior virtue, exercise their power with anxious and arbitrary brutality. When people, even those who live far from the centers of power, begin to sense that the Mandate of Heaven is slipping away from their corrupted rulers, rebellious spirits press their claims as the saviors of China, with promises of moral restoration and national unity. Millenarian cults and secret societies proliferate and sometimes explode in massive violence.”

What does it mean to be Chinese? Few questions in history have been as fateful. Bad Elements is the result of Ia