Clive Hamilton's "Silent Invasion: Uncovering China's Influence in Australia"

Kehan: As a Taiwan citizen who spent a number of years in Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party's United Front tactics and activities were something I thought I was very familiar with, until I read this book. The breadth and depth of the CCP's infiltration into mainstream Australian society and its success in manipulating public figures and people of influence, not the mention the speed with which this was achieved is truly staggering. By the time I got a few chapters into the book, I felt Australia had been caught napping, but by the time I was halfway through I felt Australia must have been caught almost comatose. Thank God it's now woken up, just about, and this very book owes something to that. Thoroughly researched and referenced, Silent Invasion leaves the United Front Work Department with no room for 'plausible deniability', something it normally excels in. As the reach of the CCP's intolerant propaganda machine is now global, this book should be compulsory reading for all diplomatic service personnel, of every country!

United States on Dec 07, 2021

Tesh: This book is a very well articulated and is full of good examples of the current secret conflict being waged by china on a naive and sleeping world. Albeit only a fraction of what there is to discover on the global stage, if one cares to investigate a little.
This is needed a wake up call, CCP-China has only been strengthened by western greed and complacency. If we keep feeding the beast, it will just grow bigger teeth to maul its weaker neighbors with....

Germany on Sep 02, 2021

Benjamin Mockler: TBH, I thought at times the author relied more on suggestion rather than iron-clad evidence, and I can imagine that some of those named might feel unfairly maligned. But even if only half those fingered have acted against Australian interests, then that needs to be forcefully combatted.
It's scary what China has become.
The sequel to this book will be interesting: How, after spending billions on it's soft-power push around the world, China spat the dummy and undermined it's own pitch, attacking anyone and everyone. Many of China's agents and influencers must be in despair - not that they would dare to admit to their own goal - Pooh Xi wouldn't like that.

Australia on Jul 05, 2021

Amazon Customer: I knew what I was in for when I began reading "Silent Invasion," but I was surprised nonetheless by the revelations brought up in this book. The depth and scale of the PRC's actions in Australia are surprising to say the least.

While I think there is always a danger that some people might misinterpret this book as another cry of "Yellow Peril," I believe that cooler aheads will agree that the dangers this book points out are all too real. We must be vigilant in guarding democracy, lest it slip away from our grasp in the darkness of the night.

United States on May 18, 2021

A. Yoshida: As the cliche goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you. This book does vitally important work in exposing the tradecraft used by the Chinese Communist Party in infiltrating Australia using every possible means.

This book should be read by people all across the West, because the same methods are being used by Red China to infiltrate and subvert all of our societies. Though this book was written before the pandemic, so any of the following sound familiar to Canadian or American readers today:

- Various grandees and business leaders who turn out to be in the pay of China?
- Student leaders whose loyalty is to China and who viciously attack those who speak for freedom for Hong Kong or Tibet or against the Uighur genocide?
- Prominent voices who seek to equate criticism of the CCP with racism?

Read this book so you can understand what is going on behind the headlines.

United States on May 11, 2021

Alain FELER: Le livre de Clive Hamilton est un "cours de rattrapage" sur l'influence et la corruption, sans pathos, sans complotisme, sans didactisme, basé sur l'accumulation d'informations toutes sourcées.
Il s'applique aux relations entre la Chine et l'Australie (que la Chine considère être dans sa zone d'influence directe) et comme tel peut paraitre lointain au lecteur français, mais les ambitions de leadership mondial de la Chine au 21ème siècle lui donnent un premier intérêt évident, puisque l'avion existe et que pour la Chine, la France ou l'Australie sont deux petites choses.
Mais ce livre présente aussi d'autres attraits.
D'abord le fait qu'il s'agisse d'un philosophe australien qui écrive, et sans aucun recours au vocabulaire philosophique comme arme d'intimidation, est très raffraichissant, et presque en soi-même une leçon de démocratie venant du pays où les clients des taxis sont censés monter à côté du chauffeur, pas derrière.
Ensuite, dans un pays comme la France, où le terme de complotisme est sans cesse utilisé comme arme de disqualification de l'adversaire, cette enquête factuelle, obstinée, pondérée, sur un travail indiscutable et pas...

France on Jan 15, 2021

Philip M: Silent Invasion describes China’s insidious and relentless infiltration of Australia’s politics, culture, real estate, agriculture, utilities, universities, unions and even schools. Anyone concerned about China’s growing influence, power and control in the West must read this book! What has, and still is, happening in Australia is already well established in the West – and we should take notice of this powerful and thoroughly researched book before it’s too late.

Silent Invasion demonstrates how China deploys subtle means, often threatening, to undermine Australia’s political, academic and institutional independence and free-thinking. And Professor Hamilton cites numerous examples of bribery, naivety and self-interest throughout Australia’s political and academic elite unwittingly aiding the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy of extending Chinese culture and policies throughout the country.

The underlying message of Silent Invasion is that the Chinese Communist Party is a Leninist party state, with an organised philosophy of propaganda to undermine anything opposed to it, both at home and abroad. It makes promises (and tells lies) that can be...

United Kingdom on May 15, 2020

wsmrer: Hard times for Australia, its major trading partner China its long time ally the USA. That should pose no problem in normal times but both of those components are themselves in a strained period of relationship. The USA having lost 5 million manufacturing jobs following the PRC entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 is now under President Trump seeking economic solutions to its troubled population’s insecurities and the Cold War mentality that faded following the fall of the USSR appears to be recovering well. Silent Invasion is Clive Hamilton’s effort to fit into that brawl and does it well by finding real or imagined threats from China’s actions. The work is ponderous but has points to make. “… the Cold War never ended in Asia.” Loc. 132

Australia’s policy makers must find their own treatment of that difficult world and Hamilton is of little help. The country seems to have an independence that has serviced it well in recent years and that is likely to continue.

An aside: Just finished reviewing a novel – No-No Boy – that is based on American interment of all west coast people of Japanese heritage in concentration camps (citizens or not)...

United States on Jul 23, 2019

Matthew K. Spencer: Silent Invasion

Silent Invasion, by Professor Clive Hamilton, describes, at length and in detail and with scrupulous care, how the Chinese Communist Party is exerting ever-tightening control over Australian politics and public life, with the express aim of suppressing, not only criticism of China, but democracy, academic freedom, free inquiry, free speech and other traditions of Australian life which the CCP finds disagreeable and which it wants to see abolished, worldwide. It is strongly reminiscent of George Orwell's essays about the craven support of many British politicians and the massed ranks of the intelligentsia for: first Hitler and then Stalin. The fact that whilst most of Orwell's essays were five to twenty pages long, Professor Hamilton's book is far weightier (376 pages and 7422 Kindle locations) is explained by the sheer breadth and depth and the CCP's ambitions in Australia and the extent of the sellout which Australia's politicians and intelligentsia have contrived -and the patient thoroughness with which Prof. Hamilton has investigated these matters.

United Kingdom on Apr 16, 2018

Juan Valverde: Thank you sir for your scholarly analysis and academic courage.
I did find the book a bit repetitive at times which made me think that it was written as a collection of articles over some time rather than as a standalone piece. But the facts stand to scrutiny, the referencing is impeccable and the interpretations pretty objective.
However, I do not share though the Author's anxieties regarding the imperialistic and belligerent attitudes of the modern China. The pre-requisite for a nation to become a world super-power, especially through 'silent' tactics is to be able to export its language and culture. Lately there have been some significant investments into the movie industry, media etc. by PCC affiliated companies but is that really going to make a great deal of a difference? The problem with these Chinese dreams of post-modern colonialism is that:
- Globalization has made sure that even the most remote and vulnerable nations (see Africa) are in a much better position to resist passively to undue influences
- China has NO FRIENDS. A handful of smarmy ex-politicians or nerdy academics don't count. they're employees or mercenaries. Simply there aren't any...

United States on Mar 03, 2018