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Exciting! Poignant! Daring!

Hong Kong Author Creates Candid Fiction

Hong Kong – In the pulse-pounding novel High Degree Of Atrocity, ex-journalist Jay Scott Kanes becomes the first English-language author to deal candidly through fiction with Hong Kong’s divisive political future.

“By writing this book, I attempt to protect Hong Kong from prospects the plot may come true. Maybe explosive fiction can repel sinister forces to the north that consistently threaten Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms.

“Fortunately, readers everywhere can enjoy the dilemmas, dangers and excitement oozing from High Degree Of Atrocity.

“My earliest inspiration came years ago,” Kanes said. “The Beijing Massacre, when thousands of innocent students died at the hands of People’s Liberation Army soldiers on June 4th, 1989, ranks as the most shocking news event of my lifetime. The Chinese government’s refusal to acknowledge the tragic injustices on that deadly day reflects the national leadership’s persistent shortcomings. Hong Kong people legitimately fear more atrocities.”

The book carries a poignant dedication to hundreds of millions of Asians too long denied the basic freedom of meaningful democracy.

“Based on global values of freedom, this highly-entertaining Asian tale carries special meaning and a powerful impact,” Kanes said.

ABOUT THE PLOT

In the summer of 2009, turbulent Hong Kong lacks democracy while hobbled with a bungling government under close supervision from China’s central leadership.

A mysterious man joins a street demonstration as part of a conspiracy to topple Wong Kai-king, Hong Kong’s unpopular chief executive. As angry citizens march for democracy, two twitches on the trigger of a handgun leave a pair of important people sprawled lifeless on the sidewalk.

Those gunshots, amplified by three eventful days and the city’s political quagmire, unleash the worst nightmare imaginable. Scowling PLA soldiers brandish weapons and strike fear on crowded streets. Spilled blood flows in crimson rivulets. Political fault-lines rumble all the way from Beijing to Washington.

Danger lurks behind every skyscraper. Amid the chaos, democracy campaigner Elsie Chan-Barrett and her husband Blair must struggle to survive while keeping alive an entire city’s flickering hopes for a better future.

Their leading adversaries, Chinese president Teng Jiheng, his Hong Kong director Yang Fengfu and PLA major-general Zhang Bingde, rank among Asia’s most powerful people. Remarkable characters like PLA sharpshooter Guo Bijian, luckless gambler Chan Ying-po, democracy activist Arthur Liu, US president Nancy Lang and CNN correspondent Angela Jones refuse to be overshadowed. From the impoverished child Hou Choi-yee to ancient Communist cadre Xie Xuetao, the book’s carefully crafted characters reflect the diversity of China.