Former Chinese premier Li Peng has released a new book on local economics in which he urged the Chinese people to work together to fulfill the “Chinese Dream.”
The book is a compilation of Li’s speeches and reports on local economies in various provinces, cities, and villages in China between 1983 and 2003 .
Li Peng was premier from 1988 to 1998, during which he presided over the Tiananmen massacre, ordering a military crackdown against pro-democracy student protesters in June 1989. He was also instrumental in the realisation of the Three Gorges Dam project.
In Li’s foreword, dated July 15th, 2015, Li wrote “I sincerely hope that Chinese citizens will, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, fulfill the Chinese dream and actualise national rejuvenation in order to create a prosperous society.”
The “Chinese Dream,” coined by President Xi Jinping, aims at national rejuvenation and the development of a prosperous society.
The book contains 150 pieces of writing, totalling 38,000 words, according to The Beijing News. It also contains a recent photograph of Li Peng, taken on September 3rd, 2015 when he viewed the China’s 2015 Victory Day Parade from the Tiananmen rostrum.
The former premier is also said to be working on a memoir of his life after 1983, according to Beijing News. His previous memoir, published in 2014, spanned from 1928 to 1983. It is not clear if Li will mention the 1989 crackdown in the new memoir, but a book called Li Peng June 4 Diary, the authenticity of which has not been officially recognised, was published in 2010 in the US.
