Australian Journalist Cheng Lei Transforms China Prison Experience into Memoir and Play
Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist, has turned her experience of being imprisoned in China into a memoir and a play. Cheng, who was an anchor for China state broadcaster CCTV English, was arrested in August 2020 and later convicted of illegally providing state secrets abroad. She was sentenced to nearly three years in prison, a term she almost completed by the time of her sentencing in October 2023. Her alleged crime involved breaking an embargo on a report by the then-Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. After her release and deportation to Australia, Cheng has embraced new creative endeavors, including writing and performing in a play about her incarceration, titled '1154 Days'. She has also ventured into stand-up comedy, using humor as a means to cope with her past experiences. 
