The Perfect Police State

An Undercover Odyssey into China's Terrifying Surveillance Dystopia of the Future

By: Geoffrey Cain

Narrated by: Feodor Chin

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting investigation into how a restive region of China became the site of a nightmare Orwellian social experiment - the definitive police state - and the global technology giants that made it possible.

Blocked from facts and truth, under constant surveillance, surrounded by a hostile alien police force: Xinjiang’s Uyghur population has become cursed, oppressed, outcast. Most citizens cannot discern between enemy and friend. Social trust has been destroyed systematically. Friends betray each other, bosses snitch on employees, teachers expose their students, and children turn on their parents. Everyone is dependent on a government that nonetheless treats them with suspicion and contempt. Welcome to the Perfect Police State.

Using the haunting story of one young woman’s attempt to escape the vicious technological dystopia, his own reporting from Xinjiang, and extensive firsthand testimony from exiles, Geoffrey Cain reveals the extraordinary intrusiveness and power of the tech surveillance giants and the chilling implications for all our futures.

©2021 Geoffrey Cain (P)2021 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

“The future has arrived and it is beyond anything George Orwell could have imagined. In this important new book, Cain details exactly how the Chinese Communist Party deployed 21st century technology - facial recognition, DNA tracking, artificial intelligence - to trap millions of its own citizens in a terrifying dystopia.” (Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea)

"The Perfect Police State should come with a warning: the scope of the Chinese surveillance state is deeper, broader, more insidious and terrifying than you can imagine. Geoffrey Cain deftly details how China has used global businesses, unabashed censorship at home and alliances with authoritarian regimes to create an ever-expanding police state. Cain doesn’t lose sight of the people entrapped by the system.... The Perfect Police State is a tour-de-force." (Elizabeth Becker, author of When the War Was Over)

"In an expose that is as timely as it is alarming, Geoffrey Cain shows how China is using artificial intelligence and totalitarian repression to turn its westernmost region into a human-rights hellhole. After reading The Perfect Police State, it is impossible to regard the Chinese leadership with anything other than contempt - and fear." (Blaine Harden, author of Escape from Camp 14)

Profound! On Point! Moving!

A present day 1984 style account of Uyghur oppression by the CCP and a detailed history of Big Tech's involvement. Fantastically well written!

The 21st century horrors of modern totalitarianism

Provides necessary context for why the Uighurs are targeted in China and how the ccp has overreacted with Orwellian precision.

Eye opening!!!!

Everyone should read this if you care about freedom and democracy. I had no idea this was going on to the extent it is. Frightening to say the least.

Riveting, Insightful and Terrifying

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was not only well researched but also perfectly written. The balance between first hand accounts and the technical information is accessible to a variety of audiences to clearly illustrate just how important it is for our modern society to insure ethics govern our technological advancement and not profits or worse indifference. This title is for everyone who wants their child to inherit a free world not 1984.

Enjoyed the story and performance

A great, well researched book on an important topic. As detailed in the story, China is actively attempting to suppress coverage of their mistreatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, and I appreciate the effort that went in to making these atrocities public.

The individual stories from interviewees of the mistreatment were poignant and not hyperbolic. I really felt for those who had escaped China but still had family there.

The narration was excellent, pacing good and the narrators voice was not annoying.

I enjoyed the listen and learned a lot.

The author did his research

I highly recommend reading/listening to this book. It is a well written narrative that provides accurate event details. Meanwhile, captivating enough to keep the readers attention.

1984 if George Orwell wrote it 10 years ago.

This is a terrifying warning to the world, beware of the slippery slope. The few inches of freedom between the ears that Winston Smith charished are gone under Skynet (Yes, the CCP really named it Skynet...)

When Dystopian Fiction Loses To Reality.

Great book. I wish the author would delve deeper into the relationship between China's Government and The United States Government. People love to pretend that each nation is separate and sovereign but any realistic adult will see that there is a large amount of inter-connectivity within global power structures.

I believe he touches on this aspect when describing the companies involved in creating the tech.

Also, the author seems to suggest that this technology just stumbled along until suddenly it was everywhere. In reality, this has been a long time coming and the blueprints of this surveillance state can be seen as far back as the 40's.

This is not a China problem. This is a global problem that threatens every human being on earth. Resist it with everything you have because it will not be easily defeated once installed.

some facts, alot of single point history

Very heavy on propaganda. aimed at popularizing simplistic world view. the hypocrisy is at times hard to endure especially if one is familiar with the story of native Americans.