This week, Australian-Chinese writer and journalist Cheng Lei joins Latika Takes: The Podcast from London, where she appeared at PEN International’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
In this emotional and heartfelt discussion, Lei and Latika are moved to tears as Lei details her journey as a Chinese-born Australian, who heads back to Beijing in the 2000s when the mood about China’s entry into the global system is positive and welcoming.
But Lei’s life goes sour when she is caught in the middle of a geopolitical storm as China’s relations with Australia head south after the then centre-right government calls for an inquiry into the origins of the pandemic.
Lei was detained for three years and two months on bogus charges before finally being freed after delicate negotiations between the CCP and the then-new Labor government in Australia.
Her recently-released memoir is a vivid account of her detention, the pain of being separated from her children and the cruelty of the CCP’s opaque justice system.
In this discussion, Lei and Latika discuss the CCP’s more aggressive direction, he naive and misplaced belief in the Chinese system, life in detention, finding happiness in prison, freedom, the relationship with her children and Australia’s relationship with China.
Lei also discusses how the Chinese diaspora in Australia has treated her since her release and how to deal with the CCP.
