Jung Chang, writer: If people thought China was so wonderful, they would go there'

"Yes, because I grew up under Mao's rule and fear was ingrained in our hearts. Today I try to overcome it, not feel it and move on with my life, but it's still there."

"Today she is over 90 years old, very frail, and we can't talk much, but we can see each other by video call. She taught me to be strong, brave, to do what I believe is right, and to write, to tell the truth."

"In essence, it's still communist. In China, you still can't own land, only buy usage rights for 70 years. People are allowed certain freedoms and to have money, but if the party decides, you can lose everything. There is freedom, as long as you don't go beyond the party's limits."

Jung Chang grew up under Mao's rule where fear was ingrained and experienced violence and persecution during the Cultural Revolution. She escaped to London, studied, wrote Wild Swans, and revisits family biography in Fly, Wild Swans. Her mother endured persecution yet taught strength, bravery, moral conviction, and the importance of telling the truth. Jung Chang acknowledges contemporary China under Xi differs from Maoism with less public violence but continues to exhibit fear and repression. She describes China as still essentially communist, with no private land ownership and freedoms conditional on remaining within Communist Party limits.

Read at english.elpais.com