Millions of smartphones or computers and their hardware all over the world with made-in-China tags provide a sense that the Dragon country is perhaps one of the most advanced IT-enabled countries. PLA soldiers are safe behind their high-tech Digital Fortress. Most of us have lived in this delusion for so many decades. General PK Mallick not only dispells this myth but also tears into the Chinese Digital Fortress. He brings out that China may have an advantage in hardware production.

During the pandemic, China has pursued a “zero COVID policy,” which has required harsh restrictions on citizens' mobility and freedoms. Well into 2022, the Chinese government is shutting down entire districts, because a few asymptomatic COVID cases were detected.[1] The government has also been willing to bear economic consequences of such strict policies as well. In comparison to countries like the US and the UK, the death toll and case load were reportedly less in China.

Kashi Ram Sharma, ‘The Third Birth of Confucius: Reconstructing the Ancient Chinese Philosophy in the Post-Mao China’. New Delhi, Manohar, 2022. 385pp. Rs. 1,995.00Confucius has made a remarkable comeback in China. As the author emphasizes, “Confucius and Confucianism is in the blood of every Chinese. It is their DNA.”So the book by a renowned Indian Sinologist with long experience and expertise in the field of Chinese studies, and who has relied on Chinese and other primary sources, on the Chinese sage and philosopher Confucius and his legacies, is very timely and valuable.

China’s space programme can be described as a mystery within a maze. The visible elements of the programme include space launch vehicles, launch sites and satellite systems. However, various components of its organisational structure and architecture are shrouded in obscurity. Since the birth of China’s space programme in 1956, its development has mirrored the progress of the nation as a whole.