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Prisoner Of The State: The Secret Journal Of Premier Zhao Ziyang (2009)

by Zhao Ziyang(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1439149380 (ISBN13: 9781439149386)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: may be more dangerous in death than he was in life, 1980 premier at 68, June 89 Tiananmen Sq massacre of hundreds Zhao as scapegoat with house arrest for 16 years till death in 05, 30 tapes made, removed from power then brought back in 80, 5.4.1919 communist movement, Gorbachev did not support students and believed govt needed to crack down, students could have used inflation to incite and believed sincerity of students to contribute to reform movement, unsure of ultra left policies of cultural rev, skeptical of top down planning, bird cage economy yet bird needed to be more free, great leader stalin and mao where 10M died from mao great leap forward, soviet style socialism vs chinese style socialism, believed he was economic reformer and politically conservative, curious ... moreinsight into a socialist system, lack of rules for individual liberties, no free press though it did exist prior to communism, press controlled by govt, one political party, rule by men and not by rule of law, staggered with corruption of men.
review 2: This book was a fascinating look into the inner workings of the CCP during the 1980s, specifically during the student protests of 1989, and it is a must-read for any scholar or student of contemporary Chinese history or politics. Although I personally found it riveting, I can certainly understand how non-China Hands might be bored by large parts of it discussing the negotiations of economic policy within the upper levels of the party. The image that Zhao Ziyang's memoir reveals of rival factions jockeying for power is nearly unprecedented, and it is easy to see how easily the actions of a few individuals, and thus the contemporary history of one of the world's most important countries, could have changed or been affected so easily. less

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