NOBEL Prize winner for Literature Gao Xingjian is often quick to distance himself from anything involving politics. He even describes himself as the sort of writer who covers all genres except political papers and advertorials. "I write what I want to while staying away from issues of politics and economics," he says.

But his body of work tells a different story. Chinese politics often form the backdrop in his writings, ever since he became a pioneer of experimental theatre in China in the early 1980s. His work attracted the attention of the Communist Party, which harassed him and forced him to flee his homeland.

After he had made a new life for himself in France, the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident took place. He released a work titled Fugitives, which was set against the backdrop of the incident. In retaliation, the Communist Party banned all his works in China.