[Watch] Cheng Lei: A Memoir of Freedom

Watch award-winning journalist Cheng Lei share her powerful story of wrongful imprisonment and survival, in conversation with James Scullin.

In A Memoir of Freedom, Cheng Lei recounts the harrowing experience of her arrest and detention in China, where she was imprisoned for over three years under charges of sharing state secrets. A respected business reporter at a state-run English-language broadcaster, Lei was held in solitary confinement, cut off from her children and family, and denied basic freedoms – all while enduring intense psychological pressure.

Now free and back in Australia, Lei reflected on her journey through the Chinese legal system and the emotional, intellectual and physical toll of captivity.

Watch this conversation with James Scullin where Lei speaks with clarity and courage about her experiences, resisting black-and-white narratives and offering a deeply nuanced view of life under authoritarian rule – and the cost of dissent.

Originally presented on Wednesday 18 June 2025 by The Wheeler Centre in partnership with Asia Society Australia.