The price of freedom: An evening with Australian journalist Cheng Lei

[Members free, non-members 300 bah. Bar and restaurant open.]

Australian journalist Cheng Lei spent more than three grueling years in a Beijing prison after being wrongly accused of espionage. She is now speaking about her experience in a newly released documentary and book released in early June in Australia, and she will bring her story to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). The FCCT will show the Sky News documentary Cheng Lei: My Story and then be joined by Cheng Lei online, who will speak about her experience, and answer questions.

In August 2020, Cheng Lei was the precise and polished anchor of China's government-run, English-language Global Business TV show, familiar to millions of viewers. A veteran business journalist, the Chinese-born Australian mother of two young children was at the pinnacle of her career when eight words she texted to a friend led to devastating consequences. Arriving for work one morning, Lei was met by officers from the notorious Ministry of State Security. After searching her apartment, they blindfolded her and drove her to a secret location. Detained, isolated and interrogated, she was cut off from all contact with her family and friends. She simply disappeared from TV screens, her apartment, her life.
It would be ten months before Lei saw her lawyer, and a year and a half before she faced a 90-minute show trial. Chinese authorities eventually coerced her into agreeing to a five-year prison term in a country she loved but no longer recognized. Her story triggered a desperate fight for her release, a massive diplomatic row between Australia and China, and a battle over media freedom that played out daily in the global news. It would be three years and two months before international efforts finally secured her release and she made it home to Australia and her children.
Harrowing, fierce and often darkly humorous, her memoir is about the power of the human spirit; bravery in the face of cruelty and pettiness; the consolations of letters, music and books; and how unexpected friendships and the love of family can unlock the courage we all have within us to prevail.
“It's only through losing freedom that we learn to truly appreciate it. When our canvas is bare, we celebrate one drop of color” – Cheng Lei
Cheng Lei’s book can be purchased at the website of her publisher, Harper Collins: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460766576/cheng-lei/

Members who wish to book in advance should email [info@fccthai.com](mailto:info@fccthai.com) or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.