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We're getting a rare and fascinating look today at how China's leaders viewed the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown.

It comes from former Premier Zhao Ziyang's secret journals, which were smuggled out of the country and will be published next week by Simon & Schuster to mark the 20th anniversary of the protests.

The book, called "Prisoner of the State," is excerpted here by The Washington Post. Here's how Post book reviewer Perry Link describes the juicy nature of Zhao's postmortem smackdown of his colleagues:

"Zhao (who died four years ago) speaks from beyond the grave. He flouts the unspoken rule against public blame of others of the group. He skewers Li Peng, Li Xiannian, Yao Yilin, Deng Liqun, Hu Qiaomu and Wang Zhen repeatedly and by name. He complains that the meeting at which martial law was decided was in violation of the Party Charter because he, the general secretary, should have chaired any such meeting but was not even notified of it."

The Post's excerpts also include audio files of Zhao, as well as translations in English and Chinese.

It's gripping stuff, and an interesting window on one of the most important political events of the past few decades.

(Zhao with students in Tiananmen Square, 1989)

 

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/commerce/090514/enter-the-dragon