Tue Oct 26 2021

<p>Red Roulette, Desmond Shum’s memoir of a fast life, deep in the bowels of Chinese politics, is the bombshell China book of 2021. It tells the story of his rise from an impoverished childhood in cultural revolution-era Shanghai and Hong Kong to his marriage to his social climbing wife with ties to the premier of China, and ultimate downfall as Xi’s anti-corruption push caught up with him.&nbsp;</p><br><p>New York Times reporter Mike Forsythe (@PekingMike) and Lizzi C Lee (@wstv_lizzi), a journalist at the independent Chinese outlet Wall St TV, join me to discuss. We get into:</p><ul><li>Corruption crackdowns under Xi Jinping</li><li>Western reporters reporting on China</li><li>The not-so-well-hidden fortunes of Politburo members</li><li>The dietary habits of traveling Chinese officials</li></ul><p><br></p><p>For an ad-free feed, please consider supporting ChinaTalk on Patreon at <a href="https://patreon.com/chinatalk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://patreon.com/...