Exploring China and the Secret Memoir Project

The speaker recounts their experience of visiting China in the late 1970s, which sparked a passion for Chinese culture and journalism. They later became involved in a secretive project to publish the memoirs of Zhao Ziyang, a former Communist Party Secretary who was under house arrest after the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Zhao secretly recorded 30 hours of tapes detailing the political dynamics and his efforts to prevent the crackdown. The project was kept secret to protect Zhao's family in China, and the speaker played a key role in editing and publishing the memoirs.

What significant event allowed the narrator to join one of the first commercial tours to China?

• The signing of the Paris Agreement

• The fall of the Berlin Wall

• Normalization of relations by Carter

• The end of the Vietnam War

What was the narrator's role in Beijing after working in Hong Kong?

• Wall Street Journal's bureau chief

• CEO of a tech company

• Editor of a local newspaper

• Ambassador to China

Who introduced the narrator to the secret memoir project?

• A government official

• Their co-editor and co-producer, Babu

• A family member

• A college professor

What was Zhao Ziyang's position during the Tiananmen Square events?

• Prime Minister

• Foreign Minister

• Communist Party secretary

• President of China

How did Zhao Ziyang document his experiences during his house arrest?

• Through secret meetings

• By sending letters

• By writing a book

• By recording 30 hours of tapes

What was the main reason for keeping the memoir project a secret?

• To surprise the public

• To avoid media attention

• To increase book sales

• To protect Zhao's family in China

What role did Babu play in the memoir project?

• He was the main author

• He smuggled the tapes out of China

• He was responsible for organizing and producing the project

• He translated the tapes

What was the potential risk if the Chinese government discovered the memoir project?

• The project would be banned worldwide

• The narrator would be arrested

• Zhao's children could be pressured to stop the project

• The tapes would be destroyed

What was the narrator's contribution to the memoir project?

• They wrote introductions and helped find a publisher

• They translated the tapes into English

• They funded the project

• They conducted interviews with Zhao

What was the outcome of the memoir project?

• It was leaked to the media

• It was turned into a documentary

• It was published successfully

• It was never published