The China Paradox by Gerard Shirar

Walter J. Lummis, a seasoned American journalist who’s spent decades reporting from Asia, stumbles upon a chilling conspiracy: China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran have quietly joined forces in an ambitious plan to sabotage America's democracy, reshape global power, and forge a world unified under Chinese rule. Determined to expose the truth, Lummis races across Asia to confirm the plot from sources hidden deep within governments and shadowy backstreets.

Yet every step brings danger. North Korea's ruthless Ministry of State Security hunts him relentlessly, determined to silence him before his explosive scoop hits the front page. With Pulitzer glory and the very future of America at stake, Lummis faces a deadly question: can he get the story out, or will he become just another headline lost to history?

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Excerpt from The China Paradox © Copyright 2025 Gerard Shirar

CHAPTER

ONE

The sound of a metal door shutting, followed by a latch closing. Then heavy breathing and the sound of a toilet seat being lowered, followed by more heavy breathing.

A man has just entered a toilet stall and is muttering to himself, fear reflected on his face. “Christ! Can’t believe what just happened.” His voice is on the edge of panic. “Saw Koreans in the terminal earlier…could have been North Korean MSS…fit the description…late twenties…early thirties…athletic looking…arrogant acting. Shit! If MSS, they could be behind it…would have seen me greeting him.”

The man is thinking now. Calm down, God dammit…and stop talking to yourself; someone’ll hear you. Think, God dammit…think! If it was the MSS they'll have their whole fucking organization looking for you and if they find you, they'll kill you for sure, just like they did him. It must have been the North Koreans. Who else would want him dead? He's been a thorn in the Supreme Leader's side for years. Got to prepare for the worst, can't just let them get away with it. Can’t let what I’ve learned die with me. Got to get the word out…tell someone. So think…God dammit, think…think…That’s it!…Your tape recorder. It’s in your pocket. Record what you know.

Beginning of recording.

“Testing…one, two, three.”

The voice recorder plays back, the sound just above a whisper, “Testing one, two, three…”

Hope you can hear this. Got to talk softly. I’m in a toilet stall in one of the men’s rooms in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I just witnessed Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of the ruler of North Korea, being murdered—I think by the North Korean MSS. The restroom stall’s not the safest place to hide, but it’s the first place I could think of. What I’ve just witnessed has put my life in danger. Legs are shaking; I’m sweating out of fear. To put it bluntly, I’m scared shitless. So bear with me.

It’s February 13, 2017. I was at the airport to meet Kim Jong-nam, the exiled half-brother of Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader. He had just arrived on a Japan Airlines flight from Macau to tell me what he learned about North Korea is a party to, a plot masterminded by China to end the economic and political dominance of the US and form a one-nation world in China’s image.

Two young women approached Kim as he walked across the airport concourse toward me. They rubbed their hands on his face, giggling as they did it. It looked like a prank, something dreamed up for a TV program…a dare or something. You probably know the type of TV program I’m talking about. A second or two later, just as I had my hand out to greet him, he slumped to the concourse floor. The way his body convulsed and went limp, they must have smeared his face with something like Venomous X, VX. There’s an antidote, Atropine. If the women took Atropine, they would have been immune to VX’s lethal effects. If it were VX, he would have died almost instantly.