From Times Online
May 14, 2009
Secret Tiananmen Square memoirs of Zhao Ziyang to be published
Jane Macartney in Beijing

The memoirs of the Chinese Communist Party leader purged for favouring student protesters during the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square have finally been released after being prepared with the utmost secrecy during years of house arrest.

The record made by Zhao Ziyang, general secretary of the Communist Party from 1987 until his fall from power in 1989, are to be published this month as Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Zhao Ziyang.
So sensitive is this document, the first memoir ever to be made public by such a senior Chinese party official, that even its existence had been kept a closely guarded secret. Speculation had been rife during his nearly 16 years of house arrest and after his death in 2005 as to whether the man with the most intimate knowledge of the events of June 3-4 1989, had provided his own account of those dramatic days.

The most exciting section of the book seen by The Times is Mr Zhao’s account of a May 17 meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee at the home of the late leader Deng Xiaoping that was also attended by several other party elders. Mr Zhao describes how he was overruled and how, without even a vote by the most powerful body in the country, it was decided to impose martial law.
He said: “At that moment, I was extremely upset. I told myself that no matter what, I refused to become the General Secretary who mobilised the military to crack down on the students.”
He submitted his resignation. He made a dramatic public appearance in the early hours of May 19 when – flanked by his aide Wen Jiabao, now premier - he visited the students in the square and, with tears in his eyes, tried to persuade them once again to withdraw. It was to no avall.
He writes: “On the night of June 3rd, while sitting in the courtyard with my family, I heard intense gunfire. A tragedy to shock the world had not been averted, and was happening after all.”
The publication of the memoir comes just weeks before the 20th anniversary of the night when troops, backed by tanks, battled their way into Beijing to end weeks of demonstrations by students demanding greater democracy and an end to corruption. Hundreds were killed.

The full piece at The Times.
And for the New York Times report link here.