Book criticising Chinese PM on sale in Hong Kong

A book which levels criticism at China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao hit the shelves of bookshops in Hong Kong on Monday. Police in mainland China warn that the author could end up in jail.

Reuters

Yu Jie, the author of "Wen Jiabao: China's Best Actor", was interrogated by state security agents in Beijing July, and was warned that he could be sent to prison if he published his book.

The Hong Kong-based New Century Press, said it had not had any interference in publishing the book

"There has been no pressure or interference whatsoever," said Bao Pu, head of New Century Press.

But the warnings received by Yu are mentioned in the foreward to the book, written by Bao Pu's father Bao Tong, a former Communist party member who has been under house arrest since 1989.

"Criticising the leader is a very serious criminal case," he wrote. "It would be very likely for [Yu] to be punished severely like the way Liu Xiaobo was."

Liu Xiaobo was convicted to 11 years in prison after promoting a manifesto calling for democracy in China.

Yu Jie's book is sure to create shockwaves at home and abroad. China’s premier has a generally good reputation and has been recently making visits to areas of the country ravaged by flooding and mudslides.

But Yu dismisses Wen's image as a reformist, and develops the theory that the Prime Minister's public persona is at severe odds with his actual self.

Yu says that Wen plays the role of "the best mediator" between citizens and the Communist party, creating an illusion that people are living a prosperous and happy life under a crumpling leadership.

Yu's books have been banned on the mainland since 2004 but are widely available in Hong Kong, which retains a semi-autonomous with civil liberties not enjoyed by people in mainland China.