Tiananmen book launch despite efforts to stop it

A new book with a surprising reassessment of the Tiananmen Square crackdown has gone on sale in Hong Kong despite efforts by Chinese authorities to stop it. “Conversations with Chen Xitong” went on sale Friday in Hong Kong but is not available in mainland China. [caption id=“attachment_328564” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A book on the Tiananmen crackdown was released in China. “] [/caption] The book is based on interviews with Chen, a disgraced ex-mayor of Beijing. He says the 1989 crackdown was an avoidable tragedy and he regrets the loss of life, but denies being directly responsible. Chen has long been portrayed as having supported the military assault. Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous region of China that enjoys Western-style civil liberties like free speech not seen on the mainland. Publisher Bao Pu said Chinese authorities asked author Yao Jianfu to stop the publication. AP