Although Zhao was no visionary, no Vaclav Havel or Lech Walesa, and not even anti-communist, his agenda in the mid-1980’s embraced the economy, politics, culture, media, and society, and it led to one of the most open and intellectually rich periods of Chinese history.
尽管赵紫阳不像哈维尔或是瓦文萨那样有着远大的理想，甚至还赞成共产主义，但他在20世纪80年代的政策还是在经济、政治、文化、媒体和社会等诸多方面缔造了中国历史上最开放、思想成果也最丰富的时期。