The monkey and the dragon : a true story about friendship, music, politics and life on the edge

Memoir, biography and travel book, The Monkey and the Dragon is a story about China like nothing you've ever read. This is a book about friendship, music, politics and life on the edge. Linda Jaivin first met Taiwan pop star Hou Dejian in 1981 when she was a journalist in Hong Kong, and his song 'Heirs of the Dragon' had made him a superstar. They became great friends. In 1983 Hou defected to communist China, a stunning and bizarre move which shocked his friends and fans. In 1989 he was one of the last hunger-strikers on Tiananmen Square. When the tanks rolled in he helped saved thousands of lives, and afterwards he wouldn't be silenced. In 1990, the authorities forced him back to Taiwan, where he became a celebrity fengshui master... From lighthearted absurdity to movingly rendered tragedy, and through the finely drawn character of Hou, bestselling author Linda Jaivin brilliantly reveals the personal and political tumult of a transforming China. 'Jaivin's... Memoir, biography and travel book, The Monkey and the Dragon is a story about China like nothing youve ever read. This is a book about friendship, music, politics and life on the edge. Linda Jaivin first met Taiwan pop star Hou Dejian in 1981. His song Heirs of the Dragon was the unifying anthem of an awakening generation in Taiwan, Hong Kong and on mainland China. In June 1983 Hou defected to communist China, a stunning and bizarre move which shocked his friends and fans. In 1989 he was one of the last hunger-strikers on Tiananmen Square where he saved the lives of thousands of protestors, and later, with Lindas help, took refuge in the Australian Embassy in Beijing. After seventy days he returned to the streets but wouldnt be silenced. In 1990 the authorities abducted him and put him on a fishing boat bound for Taiwan where he became a fengshui master. He still writes the occasional song. Memoir, biography and travel book, The Monkey and the Dragon is a story about the personal and political tumult of a changing China. Linda Jaivin traces this transformation through the life of Hou Dejian: Taiwan pop star, defector to communist China, hunger-striker at Tiananmen Square, political activist, celebrity fengshui master and friend Linda Jaivin first met Hou Dejian, a Taiwanese popstar, in 1981. She charts his fascinating life and their enduring friendship against the backdrop of Chinese politics and culture, as he defects to the mainland and participates in the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 hides in the Australian embassy and is expelled Linda Jaivin. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [425]-427.