BEIJING, May 16 — The publisher of Zhao Ziyang’s secret memoirs said his family is prepared for any consequences that might arise from the controversial new book.
But Bao Pu, who also helped translate and edit the English-language edition, told The Straits Times yesterday that he hopes the Chinese government will not choose to take a hardline stand.
His main concern is his 76-year-old father, Bao Tong, who was the top aide of the late reformist Chinese leader Zhao, and the main organiser behind the book project.
“We know the risks and we are prepared to take the risks. It’s worth it,” said Hong Kong-based Bao Pu in a phone interview. “My father is prepared for the consequences.”
Bao Tong, who lives in Beijing, has been under constant police surveillance since being released from prison in 1996.
The former member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Committee was deposed and jailed for seven years from 1989, after being accused of taking the side of pro-democracy students in the Tiananmen military crackdown.
Said Bao Pu: “We hope the book will make the authorities reflect and pay attention to its contents. We do not want any retaliation from them.”
There has been no reaction from the Chinese government so far and no mention of the book in the local media. Both Zhao and the Tiananmen incident are taboo subjects.
The memoirs, titled “Prisoner Of The State: The Secret Journal of Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang”, was put together secretly by Zhao during his house arrest.
He was stripped of all official positions for sympathising with the students and opposing the imposition of martial law in the 1989 Tiananmen incident. He remained under house arrest for 16 years, until his death in 2005.
In his memoirs, recorded on some 30 hours of old cassette tapes, he shed rare light on the leadership tussles within the CCP leading up to the crackdown which killed hundreds.
The English hardcover edition was slated for worldwide release next Tuesday, which is the 20th anniversary of Zhao’s last public appearance, when he appeared on the Tiananmen Square in central Beijing in the wee hours to convince students to end their hunger strike and protest.
But Bao Pu said that some Hong Kong bookshops broke the embargo and started displaying the book last weekend.
The Chinese edition — to be published by Bao Pu’s New Century Press and titled Journey Of The Reforms — is slated for release on May 29, days before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4.
Bao Pu said he was “relieved” that the memoirs are finally published, lifting a burden which has weighed on him for the last four years.
“I had a constant fear that I may do something wrong and ruin it. Zhao went through all those troubles to make those recordings. I have no doubt that he wanted his version of the story to survive. If I had screwed it up, it would have been inexcusable,” said the 42-year-old.
Analysts said that there is no doubt that the recordings are genuine — a major coup since previous “insider” accounts of the Tiananmen incident suffered from doubts on their authenticity.
“It was very prudent to record his memoirs on audio tapes. Even if you write it down, people can dispute if it was really his words. But when you hear his voice, it is definitely genuine,” said China elite politics watcher Bo Zhiyue of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, who had heard parts of the recordings uploaded online.
Hong Kong-based analyst Ong Yew Kim was struck by Zhao’s revelations that former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was not truly interested in democratisation.
Zhao presses the case that he advocated the opening of China’s economy to the world and Deng did not always fully support such moves.
“Many people had termed Deng a reformist. But now we know that his talk about democracy was just empty slogans,” he added.
But Dr Bo cautioned that it is premature to dismiss Deng’s role in China’s reform policies.
“Zhao Ziyang said he started the agriculture reform in Sichuan province. That is fair. But Wan Li did likewise in Anhui province and Deng brought both of them to Beijing,” he said, referring to a former vice-premier.
“This is Zhao Ziyang’s story. It may not be the whole story.” — Straits Times
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