[2] Co-editor Adi Ignatius pinpoints a meeting held at Deng Xiaoping's home on May 17, 1989, less than three weeks before the suppression of the Tiananmen protests, as the key moment in the book.

"[3] In the last chapter, Zhao praises the Western system of parliamentary democracy and says that it is the only way China can solve its problems of corruption and a growing gap between the rich and poor.

Although minor details of his life leaked out, China scholars lamented that Zhao's account of events was to remain unknown.

Zhao produced his audio journals by recording over inconspicuous low-quality tapes which were readily available in his home: children's music and Peking Opera.

[13] A Chinese edition of the book entitled Journey of the Reforms (改革歷程) was published by New Century Press and released in Hong Kong on May 29, days before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4.