Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao ZiyangPremier Zhao Ziyang reveals the secret workings of China's government behind the Tiananmen massacre—and why he was deposed for trying to stop it. Prisoner of the State is the story of Premier Zhao Ziyang, the man who brought liberal change to China and who was dethroned at the height of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 for trying to stop the massacre. Zhao spent the last years of his life under house arrest. An occasional detail about his life would slip out, but scholars and citizens lamented that Zhao never had his final say. But Zhao did produce a memoir, secretly recording on audio tapes the real story of what happened during modern China’s most critical moments. He provides intimate details about the Tiananmen crackdown, describes the ploys and double crosses used by China’s leaders, and exhorts China to adopt democracy in order to achieve long-term stability. His riveting, behind-the-scenes recollections form the basis of Prisoner of the State. The China that Zhao portrays is not some long-lost dynasty. It is today’s China, where its leaders accept economic freedom but resist political change. Zhao might have steered China’s political system toward openness and tolerance had he survived. Although Zhao now speaks from the grave, his voice still has the moral power to make China sit up and listen. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - bowedbookshelf - LibraryThingZhao Ziyang, former Chairman of the Communist Party in China, was politically sidelined in May 1989 and went into house arrest as a result of his opposition to the government response to students ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Smiley - LibraryThingThe internal workings, and funtionary names, of the Chinese Communist Party can be dizzying but Ziyang's very detailed account, from the General Secretary's seat, of the politics involved in China's ... Read full review
Contents
The Crackdown | |
The Accusations | |
The Campaign Against Zhao | |
Hu Yaobang Resigns | |
Zhao Walks the Line | |
The Ideologues | |
Preparing for the Main Event | |
A TUMULTUOUS YEAR | |
After the Congress | |
Panic Buying and Bank Runs | |
A Series of Missteps | |
Zhaos Talk with Gorbachev | |
Zhao Becomes a Prisoner | |
The Investigative Report | |
Zhaos Lonely Struggle | |
Conflicting Views at the | |
An Early Setback | |
Opening Painfully to the World | |
Finding a New Approach | |
Zhao and Hu Clash | |
Playing a Trick on a Rival | |
One Step at a Time | |
The Economy Gets Too | |
The Magic of Free Trade | |
Freedom on the Farm | |
The Coastal Regions Take | |
Coping with Corruption | |
WAR IN THE POLITBURO | |
The Problem with Prices | |
Reforms Take a | |
Zhao in Retreat | |
The Campaign to Overthrow Zhao | |
HOW CHINA MUST CHANGE | |
Dengs View on Political Reform | |
Hus View on Political Reform | |
How Zhaos View Evolved | |
The Old Guard Fights Back | |
The Way Forward | |
Epilogue | |
A Brief Biography of Zhao Ziyang | |
Who Was | |
Acknowledgments | |
Photographic Insert | |
Other editions - View all
Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang,Bao Pu,Renee Chiang Limited preview - 2009 |
Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
12th Central Committee 13th Party Congress Anti-Liberalization Campaign April 26 editorial asked Bao Tong Beijing believed Bo Yibo cadres chairman Chen Yun China Chinese coastal regions Communist Party Comrade Chen Yun corruption criticized Cultural Revolution decision democracy Deng Liqun Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping’s Deng’s director discussion economic reform enterprises foreign Four Cardinal Principles Gorbachev Guangdong Hong Kong house arrest household land contract Hu Qiaomu Hu Qili Hu Yaobang issue June Fourth leaders leadership letter Li Peng Li Xiannian liberalization Mao’s National People’s Congress official opposed Party elders Party’s Peng Politburo meeting Politburo Standing Committee political reform political system position price reform problem production propaganda proposed Province Qiao Shi resolved rural Secretariat Shanghai Shangkun situation socialism socialist speech Standing Committee meeting student demonstrations talk Third Plenum Vice Premier Wang Renzhong Wang Zhen Xiannian Yang Shangkun Yao Yilin Yun’s Zhao Ziyang Zhao’s