Other topics covered by his book include China's shourong detention system, investigative journalism in China, and the publication and reception of An Investigation of China's Peasantry, by Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao, which was later released as Will the Boat Sink the Water (2006) in its English translation.
Soon after the book's publication, local Communist Party official Zhang Xide sued Chen and Wu for libel, seeking 200,000 yuan in damages.