Yee Fong’s Blog

The title reads like a Hollywood blockbuster, and the insights could yet shed new light on the concept of Freakonomics.

Welcome to the intriguing life of Zhao Ziyang, former Chinese premier who was put under house arrest for refusing to impose martial law on the Tiananmen protestors 20 years ago.

Today, he’s almost erased from China’s version of its modern history, but he left behind his voice and an invaluable legacy in the form of print.

“Prisoner of the State – The Secret Journal of Zhao Ziyang” is a collection of Zhao’s secret voice journals, recorded even as he was hidden from the public eye by his comrades-turned-captors from 1989 till his death in 2005.

The authors of the book dedicated the first few chapters to his recount of the dramatic incident that claimed thousands of young civilians, which also ended the career of arguably one of the most progressive minds in Chinese politics.

But beyond the chronicles of the two-month saga, one finds a highly personal and, at times, winsome account of the trials and tribulations of a leader trying to set China free of rigidity as he struggled to steer the country towards modernity.

Oftentimes, Zhao’s accounts read like blog entries of an excited freshman embarking on his first solo mission.

In one chapter, he recounted his first overseas trip that would inspire him to push forward China’s reforms through gradual liberalization.

He observed how France spawned a flourishing wine industry by growing grapes that were suited to its dry climate; and how Greece became a major olive exporter, by the same token.

He concluded that China had to free itself from autarky – a single-minded pursuit of self-sufficiency, if it were to make any headway.

“According to our past way of thinking,” he mused, “in order to plant crops, we would ‘change the conditions defined by heaven and earth’ by creating huge irrigation projects.

“The result of doing everything ourselves was that we were not doing what we did best. We suffered tremendous losses because of this. I now realise more and more that if a nation is closed, not integrated into the international market, or does not take advantage of the international trade, then it will fall behind and modernization will be impossible.”

What ensued from that trip was the implementation of an open-door policy that allowed Shandong Province to plant cotton, instead of poor-yielding grains. The farmers’ income improved as they traded their yields for grains from the state.

But the most touching revelation is perhaps his relationship with Deng Xiaoping, which soured following a spate of political wrangling with opposing factions in the Communist Party.

“I only want Deng to know that…I am not a man who would sacrifice others to protect myself in times of crisis. I believe with such an understanding of the situation, he would feel better. I am very unwilling to see him leave his world with this misconception. Yet I know the chances of his understanding this are very, very slim.”

His run-ins with the state and security in asserting his rights to travel, even play golf, whilst under house arrest were sometimes humorous, albeit poignant. It was a frustration that many of us living in China can empathize with.

But he never stopped fighting.