On October 1, the Communist government will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic with an awesome display of military hardware on the streets of Beijing. Taiwanese author Professor Lung Ying-tai, of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at Hong Kong University, meanwhile, is marking the anniversary in a different way - with a book dedicated to the pain and suffering of the more than 10 million people who died in the Communist victory, and of the millions whose lives were changed for ever by it.
'In Chinese tradition, 60 years is an important day,' she said. 'Beijing should mark the day but not celebrate it. 'Behind a successful general lie 10,000 corpses.' One side should not see the other as the loser.'
The book, Big River, Big Sea - Untold Stories of 1949, tells the story of hundreds of people in that tumultuous year. Since its publication in Taiwan two weeks ago, it has sold 100,000 copies, a record; it was published in Hong Kong a week ago.
Lung's books have sparked controversy, thanks to her criticism of China's history and culture. This one will be no exception.
Mainland publishers have expressed interest in the book, but they would require self-censorship that Lung might be unwilling to make. 'We will have to see the next step,' she said.
The book is a collection of stories of Chinese families, famous and not so famous, caught up in the maelstrom of 1949. They include the families of Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, and Dr Paul Chu Ching-wu, a world-famous physicist and until last month president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
