None of the corruption cases publicly reveal what reading materials the fallen cadres had accessed. But a list of banned titles published by China Digital Times offers some possibilities. The list includes writings on Chinese politics and history, including the Tiananmen Square massacre and the disastrous Mao-era policies that saw millions die from famine, violence, and political purges. There are books scrutinising the modern CCP’s politics and power, or sharing the views of political enemies and critics like Hong Kong tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai, the exiled Tibetan Dalai Lama, and Bo Xilai, the fallen political foe of Xi Jinping. Hillary Clinton’s memoir is on the list, as is Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism.