Fires of the Dragon: Politics, Murder, and the Kuomintang

This riveting, lengthy account of a political assassination is a compelling parable for change in the two Chinas. Born in mainland China, in 1949 Henry Liu fled the Communists to Taiwan, where he became a reporter outspokenly critical of nationalist China's repressive regime. Emigrating to San Francisco in 1967, Liu became a U.S. citizen and wrote a scathing biography of Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwan's president. Liu was also a fervent anti-Communist. In 1984 he was murdered by agents of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Three members of the assassination conspiracy were freed in 1991 after serving only six years in prison. Kaplan ( Yakuza ), news editor at San Francisco's Center for Investigative Reporting, has written a shocking expose packed with revelations about Kuomintang spying and influence-peddling in the U.S. from the late 1940s to the present. He documents Kuomintang funding of China's democracy movement and reveals close KMT cooperation with the FBI and CIA in investigating and harassing Chinese activists in America. Photos. History Book Club selection. (Sept.)