Red-hot sales of Zhao's Chinese memoirs in Hong Kong

"Red-hot sales of Zhao's Chinese memoirs in Hong Kong | AboutHK.Com - more information about HK"

The Chinese version of the former Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, the explosive memories of the great demand in Hong Kong bookstores on Friday, before 20 Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The memoirs, which detail Zhao years in power and its displacement by the hard-line party 1989 following the bloody repression, when tanks and troops crushed pro-democracy demonstrations were killed, hundreds of jobs, have proved to be of great public interest in the city which hold a large candle light vigil at 4 June each year. Zhao who secretly recorded his memoirs on audio cassettes, condemned the killing as a tragedy, and rejected the government claim that the protests were an anti-Communist conspiracy. A first edition of 14,000 copies sold out within a few hours to several bookstore chains, including imports and trade press. Even booksellers traditionally seen to have communist sympathies were ordering the book in bulk to meet the demand. "Demand is far outstripping supply," said Cheung Ka-wah of Greenfield Book Store, the merchants of the book in Hong Kong. "Over the past 20 years, this book is the most sought-after that I've ever seen," she told Reuters. While the English version of Zhao's memoirs hit bookstores a few weeks ago, the publication of the Chinese edition is potentially a sensitive case for Beijing, given the likelihood of species ferreted over the border to readers in mainland China. "Not only do I want to read it myself, I want to buy it for my brother and friends in mainland China," said Chen Shi who bought four copies in the bustling business Greenfield on Friday. In a rare commentary by the semi-official Hong Kong China News Agency earlier this week, attacked the Western media has been hyping up for Zhao's memoirs, which she said: "confused and misled the public." "Hyping up the 'memoirs' on the eve of the June 4 anniversary is to reverse the verdict on the incident," he wrote. Chinese customs are expected to increase controls and which are copies of the book of travelers from Hong Kong. The government is also expected that harsh measures against piracy. "Eventually mainland readers will find their way to this material," says Bao Pu, the publisher of the Chinese book. "It's just a matter of time. If people take the book across to China on an individual basis, there's nothing they can do except confiscate the copy." Bao, the editor of the English version of "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang," urged the Chinese authorities not to ban the book, as for the previous title, the publisher of the New Century Press. Comments Please login to post comments or replies.