Hong Kong publisher to issue banned China book

A Hong Kong publisher best known for a memoir of the Chinese premier ousted for opposing a crackdown on student protesters in Tiananmen Square is releasing a critique of authoritarian rule that is banned in mainland China.

"The Rethinking of Chinese Civilization" goes on sale in Hong Kong on Monday, editor Bao Pu said Saturday. That is just three days before a massive Oct. 1 celebration in Beijing of the 60th anniversary of Communist rule.

The Chinese-language book by veteran journalist Xiao Jiansheng was banned on the mainland in 2007. The book is sensitive because its criticism of authoritarian governments in ancient China could be seen as a veiled attack on the current regime.

Xiao questioned the oppressive rule of the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C. to 206 B.C.), usually praised by Chinese historians because its leaders defeated rival states and united the country. He also praised the political and religious freedom during the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279), seen by Chinese historians as weak because China was divided during the latter part of the period.

The book was scheduled to be released on the mainland in January 2007 by the China Social Sciences Press, part of the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, but it was pulled at the last minute because of its outlook on the two dynasties, Xiao said. Calls to the mainland publisher Saturday seeking comment went unanswered.

"I decided to publish the book because I hope it will help the country's political and economic development," Xiao told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Bao said he decided to publish the book because it challenges conventional thinking.

"It makes very clear points. It's different from the views of most Chinese scholars," he said. "Because it's banned in mainland China, it's necessary to publish it in Hong Kong," he added.

Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong enjoys freedom of speech under a semiautonomous status that was promised as part of its transfer from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Bao's Hong Kong-based New Century Press is best known for publishing in May the posthumous memoir of former Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted for opposing the military crackdown on student pro-democracy protesters at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989. At least hundreds of people were killed.

The memoir, not sold on the mainland, was crafted from secret tape recordings made by Zhao, who lived under house arrest for 15 years until he died in 2005. Bao's father, Bao Tong, was Zhao's top aide.

Xiao's editors at first asked him to cancel the Hong Kong release of "The Rethinking of Chinese Civilization" because they were worried about Bao's background, but they eventually backed down, Xiao said. Xiao, 54, is an editor at Hunan Daily, published by the Chinese Communist Party branch in southern Hunan province.

Xiao said his bosses also declined his offer to resign.