1. Authentic Speeches of Zhu Rongji by Zhu Rongji (former premier), People's Publishing House.

The four-volume collection aggregates Zhu Rongji's speeches, talks, articles and letters from 1991-2003, when he served as the country's vice-premier and premier. The books are marked by his signature bluntness and reveal the untold stories of China's social, economic and political reforms.

2. Why China Wanted Reform - Remembering My Father Hu Yaobang by Hu Deping (member of the standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), People's Publishing House.

The memoir charts Hu Yaobang's intellectual legacy from the 1960s to the 1980s. It chronicles the decisive junctures in the debate over socialist policies during those periods and his perspectives and ideological shifts toward reforms.

3. Medical Reform of China by Zhu Youdi (former director general of the Research Office of the State Council), World Publishing Corporation.

Zhu reveals the problems of China's medical reform in terms of policy, systems and medical insurance. He delves into the causes of problems and provides potential solutions.

4. Notes from Viewing Sea Tower by Ye Xiaowen (Party secretary of the Central Institute of Socialism), China Renmin University Press.

The book is a collection of Ye's essays and interviews published in the Viewing Sea Tower column of People's Daily since 2007. Some explain his interpretations of the country's religious policies as the former director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs. Others detail his understanding of social and political affairs as an individual.

5. Brother Feng Comments on Sex by Zhang Feng (deputy secretary-general of Guangdong provincial government and director of Guangdong Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission), Nanfang Daily Press.

After his 10-volume cartoon series Brother Feng Talks About Sex, published in 2009, Zhang provides commentary on sex in relation to politics, economics, military affairs, culture, arts, and TV and film in this six-volume series.

(China Daily 02/28/2012 page19)