The Chinese Secret Service - Kang Sheng and the Shadow Government in Red China

by Roger Faligot, Rémi Kauffer

For the first time ever, the veil is truly lifted on the Chinese secret service, the Tewu, and its shadowy founder, Kang Sheng, who died - mourned publicly by million, privately by few - in 1975. The culmination of years of painstaking research all over the Far East and Europe, The Chinese Secret Service probes into the life of Kang Sheng and the crucial role he played in the shaping of modern China.

Exploring every aspect of the Chinese secret service, from its inception in Shanghai in the 1920s to its current role at home and abroad, the authors lay bare a world of violence, mystery and ruthless ambition: the merciless struggle between Mao and Chiang Kai-shek, the incredible story of the Chinese atom bomb, the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution and beyond. By casting a cold and piercing light on China's secret past, The Chinese Secret Service offers vital historical information on the country's troubled and confused existence today.

Genres: History

527 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent detail about the murderous efforts to disrupt China and eliminate the enemies of those in power ... so clear in describing life when dictators rule

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when Tom Clancy was all the rage (mid-80's?) and following a couple of visits to refugee camps in Nepal, I did a lot of research on the "cold war" in Tibet that was between the U.S. and China from the late-50's through the early-70's, with the intent of writing a Clancy-esque novel on that period. Never actually got around to it (maybe when I retire retire), but did learn a whole lot about that period, those parts of the world, and both the early CIA and Chinese intel services - hence my long list of books on Tibet.

This book was of more interest than Richard Deacon's The Chinese Secret Service (which dealt more with the big picture historical view of Chinese spying), as after a brief introduction it focused on 20th Century China espionage, as well as the fascinating if bizarre character of Kang Sheng.

[Taoism · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is great at recognizing Kang Sheng's influence on Red China's intelligence system at a very early stage, but not being an insider after all, with limited access to information, he can only see things in a fog, and it can be said that to really examine the early days of Red China's intelligence system, Kang Sheng was a man who could not be circumvented, both in his visionary transformation of the early intelligence system (TEKE) and the destruction of the intelligence system after the founding of the People's Republic of China, but unfortunately, no book exists that examines Kang Sheng's life in detail.

[gargamelscat · Rating 4 out of 5]

French sources provide interesting insight into Shanghai in the 1920s. Robustly anti-communist. Writing style somewhat eclectically journalistic (breathless, trailing ellipses, exclamation marks), perhaps an artefact of translation.