A new book on Zhao Ziyang, derived from a series of tape recorded interviews, is a good reminder of what might have been in China.
He was the man at the top of the Party hierarchy who stood against violence in 1989. He sought a humane resolution of the nation-wide protests. But he was defeated by the hard-liners, the men who were willing to call out the army against the people. In his political defeat, however, is Zhao's ultimate redemption. This book will stand as a testament to what might have been. Those hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Beijing citizen who were killed on the night of June 3-4, 1989, might have been spared. China's development could have proceeded with less political and intellectual repression. It was not inevitable that a harder authoritarianism would prevail. Zhao fought the good fight, and he almost won. China would be better off today if he had.
Perry Link's review suggests that Zhao's political views were transformed by his house arrest:
But incarceration also provided him with time to read and reflect
broadly on China's situation in history. At the end of "Prisoner of the
State," we see Zhao arrive at positions more radical than any he had
taken before — positions that the Chinese government had long been
calling "dissident." For instance, Zhao eventually concluded that China
needs a free press, freedom to organize and an independent judiciary.
The Communist Party will have to release its monopoly on power.
Ultimately, China will need parliamentary democracy.
These are not the ideas of a Western liberal. They are the thoughts of a man who has seen the inside of the party-state and who has also felt its wrath. Tyranny creates a demand for democracy.
You can hear him in his own words here. And you can buy the book.
The Useless Tree 
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