A secret manuscript that Beijing is desperately trying to stop from being published outlines late leader Zhao Ziyang's plea for the mainland to abandon one-party rule and follow the path of democracy.

It also airs the purged leader's opinion that the government blundered in its crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy protests that led to hundreds, if not thousands, of citizens being killed, the author said.

The sensitive manuscript - now at the center of the arrest of Hong Kong-based Singapore Straits Times reporter Ching Cheong, who was detained while trying to obtain a copy of it - has yet to make its way out of the mainland.

Mainland authorities have pressured author Zong Fengming, an old friend of Zhao's, to not publish the book.

The 85-year-old Zong, who compiled the manuscript from conversations he had with Zhao while he was under house arrest, said what makes it so threatening to Beijing is Zhao's belief that China must have democracy to prosper and that economic reforms are simply not enough.

"He said China's development must be on the path of democracy and rule of law. If not, China will be a corrupt society,'' said Zong.

"He believed China's economic reforms need democracy, otherwise they will not work. He believed if there were no political reforms, it would bitterly disappoint the people.''

Zhao, a former premier and general secretary of the Communist Party, was purged in 1989 for opposing the decision to use force to quell the six-week-long, unprecedented Tiananmen Square protests that year.

He spent the rest of his life under house arrest and died in January.

His death was limited to a terse few paragraphs in the state-controlled media as part of an official campaign to limit his influence on contemporary China.

Zong, a qigong master and former colleague of Zhao's at the cabinet level, was one of the few people who had access to him at his tightly guarded compound in Beijing.

Zong believes the government fears that if a book about Zhao's views is published overseas and copies find their way back to the mainland, it could have a detrimental effect on the legitimacy of the communist regime, making Zhao a hero even in death.

``They are afraid his influence will be broadened,'' said Zong.

Zhao's views run contrary to the path mainland leaders are taking.

While allowing economic opening to spur growth, Beijing is intent on maintaining one-party rule and quashing dissent or freedom of expression.

``His view is that economic reform and political reform must go hand in hand, but now China is only undergoing economic reforms,'' said Zong.

He said the manuscript also reveals Zhao's insider knowledge of what led to the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989, saying Xinhua reporter Yang Jisheng's secretly published interviews with Zhao last year were true.

``I was there when he interviewed Zhao Ziyang,'' said Zong.

In Yang's book, Zhao firmly placed the blame for the brutal crackdown on late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and detailed his own efforts to stop it.

Zong said Zhao argued during their interviews that contrary to the government's insistence that there was no alternative but to use force, Beijing's leaders had many chances to avoid bloodshed.

While locked up behind the walls of his barbed-wired house, Zhao kept abreast of what was happening in the mainland and never lost his concern for the country, said Zong.

``He especially liked to talk about farmers, laid-off workers and the rich-poor gap,'' he said.

Zhao maintained his optimistic view of life despite being restricted in his movements and prevented from seeing most friends and former close associates, said Zong.

Zhao also did not resent the new generation of leaders, who worked under him and were his proteges in the 1980s, for not releasing him after they came into power in 2002-2003. Premier Wen Jiabao used to be a close aide of Zhao's.

``They were only carrying out the policy,'' said Zong.

None of the mainland's leaders ever visited Zhao during his incarceration, he said.

``They couldn't see him or contact him during the years he was under house arrest.''

Zong is seeking a publisher for his book. The publisher of an earlier book in which he briefly quoted Zhao is too afraid to touch the manuscript after being harassed by mainland police, he said.

A former member of the State Council's economic reform committee in the 1980s under Zhao, Zong said he intends to get the book published despite the pressure on him because of his respect for history and for Zhao.

``They want people to forget Zhao Ziyang. ... In my view, the purging of Zhao Ziyang is China's sorrow. Because of this, we did not go down the path of democracy,'' said Zong.