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改革歷程 "Gaige Licheng" (Traditional Chinese Version) (2009)

by Zhao Ziyang(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

9881720273 (ISBN13: 9789881720276)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

新世纪出版社

review 1: As a book, it may not be as interesting to some readers, but as for its unique insight to behind-the-scenes Chinese leadership in the 1980s, it's priceless.I started this around the 15th anniversary of Tiananmen, wanting to get more acquainted with the run-up to Tiananmen instead of just the day-of and the aftermath. It was really good for that, but be aware that about half the book talks about his role in economic reform as well.The last bit talked about different peoples' (Deng, Hu, Zhao) approach to political reform and what they wanted and how their views changed over time.Recommended to anyone wanting a fuller understanding of 80s China.
review 2: This is a paean to capitalism, secretly taped by the former General Secretary Zhao Ziyang during his years und... moreer house arrest, to which he was (never officially) condemned for having objected to the bloody quashing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.The better incentives that come from enjoying the fruits of your labor, comparative advantage, gains from trade, how to stimulate the economy, how to fight demand-pull inflation etc. are explained much more clearly than Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Keynes or Friedman ever did and over fewer pages. Remarkable. Oh, and no labels are given. It just flows, it's not at all an attempt at an economics tutorial.Funny thing is, that's not the main thrust of the book. Zhao Ziyang merely wanted to set the record straight on the fact that he never turned against Deng Xiaoping. In his view the party elders who opposed his not-so-covert move toward capitalism had it in for him and ambushed him when the Tiananmen Square revolt (quaintly referred to as the "June 4 incident") occurred.Roughly half the book is about the elders' machinations against Zhao and vice versa and about how unfairly he was treated, it's not about economics. Very intersting in its own right if you are into Chinese history, but not my kind of thing, I must admit. And I did once take a course by the professor who wrote the introduction to this book...Over and above its value as an economics textbook from the man who was arguably the architect of the largest economic turnaround in history, this is an indispensable book for three reasons:1. It's the only insider account we'll ever get about Tiananmen2. It is the definitive account of how Deng Xiaoping allowed Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang to chart a path to economic prosperity3. It lays out the view that this prosperity will not carry on without democratization.Zhao is still very much disputed on this third front, but history has been kind to him on all other views on display here and it could well vindicate him on his third prediction! less

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