What I learned about freedom in a secret Chinese prison | Lei Cheng

Summary

Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily – "What I Learned About Freedom in a Secret Chinese Prison" by Lei Cheng

Episode Information

• Title: What I Learned About Freedom in a Secret Chinese Prison
• Host/Author: TED
• Release Date: June 3, 2025
• Speaker: Lei Chang

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of TED Talks Daily, journalist Lei Chang shares her harrowing yet enlightening experience of being unjustly imprisoned in a secret Chinese facility. Drawing from her three-year detention, Lei offers profound insights into the essence of freedom, resilience, and human spirit under extreme adversity.

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Lei Chang’s Background and Detention

Lei Chang, a seasoned journalist with over a decade of experience reporting on China's economic landscape for prominent outlets like CNBC Asia and China Global Television Network, faced a sudden and unjust upheaval in 2020. Under false accusations of leaking state secrets, the Chinese government detained her, abruptly halting her flourishing career.

Quote:
"In detention, the sort that makes jail seem like Ibiza." (03:30)

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Understanding the Value of Freedom

Through her ordeal, Lei discovered that freedom is often undervalued until it is stripped away. She likens freedom to winning a lottery, where its abundance can lead to complacency and poor prioritization.

Key Insights:

• Appreciation Through Loss: Only by experiencing the loss of freedom does one truly appreciate its value.
• Paralysis by Choice: Excessive freedom can lead to indecision and an inability to prioritize what truly matters.

Quote:
"Freedom is wasted on the free. Let me explain." (03:45)

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Daily Life in RSDL and Detention

Lei describes her initial phase of imprisonment, RSDL (Chinese spelling for hell), where she was under constant surveillance with two guards, restricted to sitting for 13 hours a day, and unable to make even the smallest movements without permission.

Quote:
"I had to request permission to make the smallest movement. And you know what I wanted to do the most? I wanted to run." (05:10)

Transitioning to detention, Lei found herself sharing a cell with three other inmates, which paradoxically felt like experiencing a form of freedom compared to the solitary confinement of RSDL. This shift allowed her to realize the importance of relationships and meaningful connections.

Quote:
"Detention was paradise. Nobody in the cell regrets things like money or assets. But we were kicking ourselves over the travel. We didn't do the love we didn't show, the risks we didn't take." (07:15)

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Lessons on Empathy and Kindness

Despite the harsh conditions, Lei emphasizes the transformative power of empathy and kindness. She maintained cordial relationships with the guards, understanding their own suffering under strict protocols.

Key Moments:

• Empathy Towards Guards: Lei chose to greet guards politely and forgave their enforcement of strict rules, recognizing their own hardships.

  Quote:
  "I didn't hold it against them when they enforced the strict rules because I saw that they suffered too." (11:20)

• Forgiveness and Compassion: Even when faced with bullying from a fellow inmate, Lei responded with compassion, leading to moments of mutual understanding and comfort.

  Quote:
  "Once called for a midnight interrogation. She was so scared she asked if she could hold my hand. I hugged her and comforted her." (12:45)

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Creativity and Human Spirit Under Constraints

Lei highlights how, even in the bleakest circumstances, the human spirit finds ways to create and connect. She recounts how inmates engaged in creative endeavors like songwriting and poetry, which became lifelines of hope and friendship.

Notable Examples:

• Music: A cellmate composed and sang a song for Lei on her birthday without any external tools.
• Poetry: An intricate acrostic poem was communicated through over 400 precise knocks on the adjacent cell walls.

Quote:
"With each knock, I could feel the power of friendship transcend those thick walls." (13:30)

Lei argues that such creativity amidst constraints not only sustains hope but also underscores the limitless nature of the human spirit.

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Recalibrating Appreciation for Life

By experiencing severe deprivation, Lei learned to recalibrate her perception of joy and fulfillment. She contrasts the overwhelming abundance of choices in everyday life with the stark simplicity of prison life, where even minimal pleasures are magnified and cherished.

Key Points:

• Minimalism vs. Abundance: In prison, a single drop of color (a metaphor for simple joys) is celebrated, whereas in abundance, small pleasures often go unnoticed.
• Serenity Through Adversity: Achieving a state of inner peace required Lei to navigate through intense anxiety, pain, and despair.

Quote:
"When our canvas was so full, we look at that little smudge and we magnify it. But when our canvas was bare, we could celebrate even one drop of color." (14:00)

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Conclusion and Call to Action

Lei Chang concludes her talk by urging listeners to remember the fragility of freedom and to cultivate inner serenity. She advocates for embracing simplicity, fostering empathy, and recognizing the boundless potential of the human spirit, even in the most restrictive circumstances.

Final Thought:
"Remind ourselves of the blindness so we can see life fully, like a newborn." (14:00)

Lei's story is a testament to resilience, the pursuit of inner peace, and the profound appreciation of freedom gained through its temporary loss.

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Additional Information

• Host: Elise Hu introduces the episode, briefly mentioning Lei Chang's background and the focus of her talk.
• Advertisements and Sponsors: The episode includes brief advertisements for Capital One, Whole Foods Market, SimpliSafe, Verizon, and promoting the All About Change podcast. These sections are excluded from the summary as per instructions.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "Freedom is wasted on the free. Let me explain." (03:45)
• "I had to request permission to make the smallest movement. And you know what I wanted to do the most? I wanted to run." (05:10)
• "Detention was paradise. Nobody in the cell regrets things like money or assets. But we were kicking ourselves over the travel. We didn't do the love we didn't show, the risks we didn't take." (07:15)
• "I didn't hold it against them when they enforced the strict rules because I saw that they suffered too." (11:20)
• "With each knock, I could feel the power of friendship transcend those thick walls." (13:30)
• "When our canvas was so full, we look at that little smudge and we magnify it. But when our canvas was bare, we could celebrate even one drop of color." (14:00)
• "Remind ourselves of the blindness so we can see life fully, like a newborn." (14:00)

Closing Remarks

Lei Chang's TED Talk offers a profound exploration of freedom's true value, the strength of the human spirit, and the importance of empathy and creativity in overcoming adversity. Her narrative not only sheds light on the harsh realities of unjust imprisonment but also inspires listeners to cherish and cultivate their own freedoms.

Transcript

[Elise Hu]

Hey, TED Talks Daily listeners, it's Elise. Thank you for making this show part of your daily routine. We really appreciate it and we want to make it even better for you. So we put together a quick survey and we'd love to hear your thoughts. It's listener survey time. It only takes a few minutes, but it really helps us shape the show and get to know you, our listeners, so much better. Head to the episode description to find the link to the listener survey with we would really appreciate you doing it. Thank you so much for taking the time to help the show. You're listening to TED Talks Daily where we bring you new ideas and conversations to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. For more than a decade, journalist Lei Chang built a successful career reporting on China's economic growth for outlets such as CNBC Asia and the China Global Television network. But in 2020, her career came to a sudden halt when the Chinese government jailed her under false accusations and kept her detained for three years. Lei took the TED stage to share lessons learned from her imprisonment, namely that only through losing freedom do we learn to truly appreciate it.

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[Lei Chang]

My talk is about what I didn't have for a long time. I received free accommodation from the Chinese government for over three years for so called leaking state secrets overseas. At the worst time for Australia China relations. And the first phase was called rsdl, Chinese spelling for hell. Then in detention, the sort that makes jail seem like Ibiza. And it was through that ordeal, call it the Wonder diet, that I realized freedom is wasted on the free. Let me explain. When you only have a few dollars, you know how to spend it. When you win the lottery, it's easy to squander and hard to get your priorities right. Same with freedom. You can be paralyzed by choice. You can't comprehend the vastness or the preciousness. So how do you make freedom count when you're lucky enough to have it? To start what it felt like to be not free in rsdl, I had two guards glued to me, front and side at all times. I was made to sit for 13 hours straight each day. I had to request permission to make the smallest movement. And you know what I wanted to do the most? I wanted to run. And usually I hate running. I couldn't talk, which to me is major torture. I wanted to talk to anyone. But in real life, I have sometimes worn earpods to shut people out. And I would have done anything to learn. Except when I was outside, I wasted the chance. I was too busy. Then I moved to detention. I had three cellmates and that already felt like freedom. Paradise. Nobody in the cell regrets things like money or assets. But we were kicking ourselves over the travel. We didn't do the love we didn't show, the risks we didn't take. Imprisonment is like a mini death. It's a taste of the real thing. It hit us that one day we'll lose the chance to do everything, even the stuff we hate now. So now I do things I want immediately. Another way to value freedom is to be super aware of the forms of prison. My son asked me if a kid goes to the same nursery, elementary, high school is that a 13 year sentence. It got me thinking about life as a death sentence and the prisons we put ourselves in. Property objects can tie us down. Relationships can be shackles too. And we sometimes give up our civil liberties in exchange for a neat society. But the maximum security prison is our mind, our fears and conventions and biases. And that's why the officers in detention, who are so bound by doctrine, couldn't understand that we could learn with delight and make fun behind bars. I talk about imprisonment, but in fact everyone here. We've all had some loss of physical freedom. COVID lockdowns, we've all been sick in bed. But when we lose physical freedom, it's an opportunity to find freedom within. And that's how I could, when I was blindfolded and handcuffed, think myself to infinity through imagination, knowledge and a btfi serenity beyond the fuck means no matter how bad things get riding out. The worst part, which for me had been wanting to bash my head open against the tiles to shut off the mental anguish, it had been being stripped naked in a cage. So the ultimate state of being is to be serene. But you can't get there until you've exhausted the other extreme anxiety, pain, despair. And now I'm giving a TED Talk. Thank you. And when we are serene, we can choose kindness. When those guards watched me at all times, I would still say good morning to them. I didn't hold it against them when they enforced the strict rules because I saw that they suffered too. During the shifts, they couldn't talk, drink water or even go to the toilet. They had to watch me shit, shower and sleep. Later in detention, I would still show courtesy to the officers, even when they were rude, even when they encouraged us to snitch. I still chose to forgive my cellmates and empathize. If I become vengeful and petty, then they've taken away more from me. I was in a cell for a while with a terrible bully. She made my life hell, but once called for a midnight interrogation. She was so scared she asked if she could hold my hand. I hugged her and comforted her. Once you realize that pain is the ultimate commonality, you can also give kindness as the universal gift. Some of the most precious gifts I've received were in detention, even though we had close to nothing. Music. A cellmate wrote a song in her head in solitary and sang it for me on my birthday. No Spotify or ChatGPT or even Notepad from her head to our ears. Poetry. An acrostic poem knocked via the adjacent cell's walls through an alphabetical code. It took over 400 knocks and precise counting to receive that message. But you know what? With each knock, I could feel the power of friendship transcend those thick walls. Of course we were punished, but it was worth it. Crafts that we made in secrecy that were destroyed once seen because it was against the rules. But the objects were nothing compared to how we felt in making and giving those gifts. So you see, there can be endless creativity, even within a world of constraints. And maybe by having so much, we lose the ability to create something out of nothing. I'm not promoting detention, but like athletes training at high altitude, setting some constraints may expand our minds. We can also expand our appreciation of life through some deprivation because that recalibrates your Richter scale for joy. One summer night in detention, there was a blackout. The only darkness we'd experienced in all those years. The hateful fluorescent lights were off and nobody could see us on the monitors. Five minutes of joy that we talked about for months. Then recently in my hometown of Melbourne, there was a storm blackout. And instead of smiling in the lotus position, guess what I was worried about? Food in the freezer, charging the electronics. Some other first world problems we complained about. Oh, the weather. The Vancouver rain. Well in there, I have been in tears because I could finally smell the rain. The traffic. Well in there, the only traffic was bumping into my cellmate along the 1 meter wide corridor along which to walk 5 meters. Too many emails. I went for months without a letter. I had one phone call in all those years. Annoying kids. I used to have to imagine my kids faces because I couldn't keep a photo of them in the cell. So you see, when our canvas is so full, we look at that little smudge and we magnify it. But when our canvas was bare, we could celebrate even one drop of color. And that's what I hope I will continue to do. And I hope you will join me. Remind ourselves of the blindness so we can see life fully, like a newborn. Thank you.

[Elise Hu]

That was lei Cheng at TED 2025. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

[Lei Chang]

Foreign.

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[Capital One Ad]

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[All About Change Host]

Change starts with listening. If you have a heart, activism is just a natural step into the next part of who you're going to be as a person. But how do you turn that feeling into meaningful action?

[Lei Chang]

Don't try to fight bad legislation. Write your own legislation.

[All About Change Host]

On All About Change. We talk to inspiring people about their purpose, what gives them hope and drives them to create change. So join us. Find stories that fuel your own journey. Listen to All About Change wherever you get your podcasts.