Some stores own the books, so they won't let you seize their property. I gave them about 330 books, which is all that I had left. It isn't true that they burned the books. That was just a rumor.
Q: Did the PSRD say that your book could have an impact on the relationship between the two countries?
A: No. Even though I was officially granted permission to publish it, I said nothing about it. Neither the Ministry of Information nor the PSRD said anything. To tell you the truth, I was afraid of the North Koreans. They would do whatever they wanted to do. If it were another country, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Q: We have learned that you criticized Deng Xiaoping when you wrote about him. What about this time? Did you also include criticism about the North Korean leader?
A: When I wrote about Deng Xiaoping, I said he was good when he was young. He was in trouble during the Cultural Revolution—suppressed by the Gang of Four, something like that. But he changed later. I wrote everything, good and bad, about him. But in this book about the North Korean leader, I did not use any critical tone about him. However, they don't allow or won't endorse any book unless the North Korean government publishes it officially. It doesn’t matter how much you praise their leader in your book, they still don't like it if it was not what they publish.
Q: Kim Jong Il's penchant for fine dining was revealed in your book, right?
A: Yes. He likes to eat sushi and other delicious dishes. But at public receptions, he only eats rice soup. That's all I said. The books I refer to say he has hired Italian chefs and Japanese and English cooks as he enjoys exotic food, even though he only eats rice soup in public. I was actually kind to him in my translation. There are a lot bad things I could have written about him.
Q: Did readers like your book?
A: It didn't really appeal to readers. Look how many copies I had left. If readers were really interested, there wouldn't have been any books left to hand over. My biography of President Obama, on the other hand, sold out very quickly and was reprinted five times. I also wrote about Iranian President Ahmadinejad because no other author in Burma had written about him. It was very difficult work for me, but it didn't sell well, either. Economically, it was risky to publish such a book.
Q: What do you think about this incident?
A: My personal belief in writing biographies is that Burmese people can learn from the lifelong experiences of world leaders and take what they think is good and useful from them. Likewise, they can leave bad things behind. The younger generation should learn from those who love their country and people. I would also like to write about Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who I believe committed bad things but at the same time is worth learning from. In that way, our younger generation will be knowledgeable and have an international outlook and good understanding of history. I don't write biographies for money. I just want others to have more knowledge. Such books are really difficult to sell. It's difficult to sell even 1,000 copies.
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