In Search of a Coffin

In 1983, after an absence of more than twenty years, a British intelligence offi cer returned to Hong Kong with the instruction to fi nd a solution to end the impasse in the Sino-British negotiations on the future of Hong Kong. In an effort to break the deadlock, London decided to use the secret service offi cerâs strong connections in China to make a behind-the-scene approach to his Chinese counterpart in an attempt to reach the top Chinese leadership to fi nd a way out.This book gives an insight into the top Chinese leadership and a different world of espionage. For most part, espionage and intelligence in the real world is a far cry from the fi ctional James Bond as depicted in popular movies and novels hitherto;the book illustrates the part spies play in shaping international relations, provide the readers with a window into a world of the secret servants who serve their country with loyalty and dedication. The tradecraft of spying in the real world has little to do with the frolics of 007; a license to kill is not high on the agenda.The book ends on the morning of June 4, 1989, in Tiananmen Square in Peking. It marks the end of the fi rst chapter in the history of Communist China. This is the fi rst volume in a trilogy that will trace the development of China into the twentyfi rst century.