Veteran reporter Mike Chinoy’s new book offers a curated collection of interviews with and testimonials from American journalists on the difficulties faced in reporting from the People’s Republic of China.

Mike Chinoy has observed China from both within and just outside its borders for over five decades. As CNN’s first Beijing bureau chief in the late 1980s and early 90s, he contributed reporting on some of the country’s key moments following its reform and opening under Deng Xiaoping. That included critical coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student movement and the Chinese Communist Party’s devastating crackdown, which Chinoy reported on live from a hotel room overlooking the square.  

In his latest book titled Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People’s Republic of China, Chinoy shares his experience and that of other well-known reporters who had the daunting task of conveying one of the defining events of the late 20th century to a global audience. An outgrowth of Chinoy’s 12-part documentary series of the same name, the book compiles the recorded testimony of, and interviews with, over 130 journalists and other key figures in American media coverage of China since 1949. The result is a compelling thematic narrative focusing on the work of foreign journalists in informing the outside world about the nuances of one of the world’s most fascinating countries.    

As Chinoy notes, these journalists not only set precedents for reporting on China, an incredibly complex and highly mutable place, but also profoundly affected the nature and impact of media in general. For example, Chinoy and his CNN colleagues’ virtually non-stop coverage of Tiananmen likely gave birth to what later became known as the “CNN effect.” The term refers to how the outcomes of events can be determined – and how important decisions can be made – based on the 24-hour television news cycle.  

Assignment China also contains insights into the art of journalism and the painstaking work of verifying and fact-checking stories in a country with a governing apparatus that is constantly trying to control and guide the flow of information. And it’s not just the Party that obfuscates the truth to fulfill its aims; as The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof reflects when speaking about covering Tiananmen, victims of terrible events also sometimes exaggerate. It’s the journalist’s challenging job to cut through the fog and present reports that sometimes anger the very people they sympathize with. 

The book also sheds light on the tensions that exist between print and broadcast media and the different challenges each faces in reporting on China. TV reporters note the difficulty of explaining certain events or concepts visually. As Barry Peterson of CBS News tells Chinoy, “In TV news, it’s not easy to do complicated.”  

Print journalists, on the other hand, have often been targeted by the Chinese government precisely for the level of context and detail they are able to provide in their written pieces. Reporters and their media organizations can face uncomfortable fallout when the coverage impacts people in positions of power, as was the case with at least two of Chinoy’s interviewees. 

One reason why the book deserves attention is because access to on-the-ground reporting in China has been so severely limited for American journalists since relations between the two countries began deteriorating during the Trump administration. Beijing bureaus of almost all major U.S. print publications have had to move elsewhere in the region. Many of their correspondents have based themselves in Taiwan, which Chinoy refers to as “the new listening post.” The reference is to the long period following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China when most foreign reporters were forced to cover the country from Hong Kong, then still a British colony.  

As several of Chinoy’s interviewees note, one of the most significant aspects of the China story is the human element. During China’s immense and rapid rise as an economic powerhouse in the first decade of the 21st century, some of the most insightful reporting involved the lives and experiences of people impacted by the vast changes happening in China. Since the end of this “golden era” of China reporting and the reliance on coverage from outside the country, those personal stories have become much rarer. 

Yet in contrast to the essentially black box that China represented for those living outside its borders during the Mao Zedong years, technology has now made it much more accessible. Reporters with an account on WeChat – China’s ubiquitous chat messaging platform, social media, and mobile payment app – can still have an ear to the ground for the most significant stories happening inside the country.  

Still, China’s relentless pursuit of insulating its domestic internet from the outside world has continued to create obstacles. And Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s iron grip on power has had a silencing effect on many of the country’s experts and public figures who were once willing to speak to the foreign press about domestic and geopolitical issues. 

Like any good journalist, Chinoy largely keeps himself out of the story, only using his own experience at times to emphasize a point or to move the narrative along. It’s a wise choice given the sheer number of actors whose voices are present in the book. But considering the breadth and depth of the author’s China coverage, Assignment China could have benefited from at least a few more personal anecdotes.  

Overall, though, the book is an enthralling and penetrating look at the challenging but important mission of foreign journalists who report on China. It is an excellent addition to the growing body of work on China’s modern history and should be essential reading not only for people interested in China but for anyone aiming for a career in journalism.