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Secret Tiananmen memoirs revealed | Secret Tiananmen memoirs revealed |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The memoirs of China's former communist leader who was sacked after the Tiananmen incident have been published. | The memoirs of China's former communist leader who was sacked after the Tiananmen incident have been published. |
Zhao Ziyang's book lifts the lid on discussions within the party that led to the crushing of the protest movement. | Zhao Ziyang's book lifts the lid on discussions within the party that led to the crushing of the protest movement. |
Mr Zhao was sacked after the incident and put under house arrest until his death in 2005. | Mr Zhao was sacked after the incident and put under house arrest until his death in 2005. |
The publication of the book, in English, comes just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the killings. | The publication of the book, in English, comes just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the killings. |
Hundreds died | Hundreds died |
The book is believed to have been based on secret tapes recorded while Mr Zhao, the party's former general secretary, was under house arrest. | |
About 30 hours of tapes were apparently recorded and then smuggled out of China for the book, called Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang. | About 30 hours of tapes were apparently recorded and then smuggled out of China for the book, called Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang. |
It was apparently so secret that even Mr Zhao's daughter, Wang Yannan, told the BBC that she knew nothing of the book. | It was apparently so secret that even Mr Zhao's daughter, Wang Yannan, told the BBC that she knew nothing of the book. |
Those that have seen the book said Mr Zhao denounced the killing of protesters on 3-4 June 1989 as a "tragedy". | Those that have seen the book said Mr Zhao denounced the killing of protesters on 3-4 June 1989 as a "tragedy". |
"On the night of 3 June, while sitting in the courtyard with my family, I heard intense gunfire. A tragedy to shock the world had not been averted," he said, according to Reuters news agency. | "On the night of 3 June, while sitting in the courtyard with my family, I heard intense gunfire. A tragedy to shock the world had not been averted," he said, according to Reuters news agency. |
Mr Bao says China will one day have to change its view of the incident | Mr Bao says China will one day have to change its view of the incident |
In the book Mr Zhao, who wanted China to embark on far-reaching political reforms, praised Western-style democracy. | In the book Mr Zhao, who wanted China to embark on far-reaching political reforms, praised Western-style democracy. |
"If we don't move toward this goal, it will be impossible to resolve the abnormal conditions in China's market economy," he wrote. | "If we don't move toward this goal, it will be impossible to resolve the abnormal conditions in China's market economy," he wrote. |
Mr Zhao's former secretary, Bao Tong, said he was behind the scheme to publish his former boss's memoirs. | |
Mr Bao spent seven years in prison because of his involvement in the Tiananmen incident and is still under house arrest in Beijing. | |
"I planned both the Chinese and English versions of the book," he told the BBC. | |
"If China's legal bodies want to find someone responsible, they ought to come after me." | |
He also challenged the Chinese government to contradict Mr Zhao's version of events surrounding the incident. | |
In the book, the former general secretary says the students only wanted the party to correct its mistakes - not overthrow it altogether. | |
The Chinese government is still sensitive about the Tiananmen incident, in which hundreds of students and Beijing residents are believed to have died. | The Chinese government is still sensitive about the Tiananmen incident, in which hundreds of students and Beijing residents are believed to have died. |
The publication of this book - coming just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown - is likely to embarrass the Chinese government, which is reluctant to talk about what happened. | |