蜜芽传媒

In this sequel to her memoir Wild Swans, Jung Chang charts her path from arriving as a 26-year-old student in the UK in 1978, through the years of post-Mao liberalisation, to the more recent authoritarian and increasingly repressive rule of President Xi Jinping. The constant thread throughout these years has been her powerful bond with her mother, the woman to whom this book is dedicated.

Jung and her fellow students grew up in complete isolation from the West, and lived in fear as to what might happen if they broke any of the strict rules imposed upon them by their government. The chance to travel to Britain and then to study at York University was an invaluable opportunity. But the freedom of expression that she chose to exercise once she became a British citizen eventually exacted a high price.

Although for many years she was able to return to China and visit her family while researching her subsequent books, there came a point when the political situation meant permanent separation from her mother and those family members who she left behind in China. Today Jung Chang is unable to return to bid farewell to her frail mother who is now in her 90s, but she remains determined to honour the freedom that her mother encouraged her to embrace.

Written by Jung Chang
Read by Sarah Lam
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
The Waters Company for 蜜芽传媒 Radio 4