'Fly, Wild Swans' weaves Jung Chang’s family history with the history of China

Writer Jung Chang discusses her new memoir, *Fly Wild Swans*, which serves as a sequel to her international bestseller and a tribute to her late mother. The conversation centers on the personal cost of Chang’s historical truth-telling, specifically her biography of Mao Zedong that led to her exile from China. Chang details the "Great Leap Forward" famine, attributing 40 million deaths to Mao’s decision to export food to the Soviet bloc to fund military industrialization. She explains how the 2018 Chinese law against "insulting heroes" made it impossible for her to return to her dying mother’s bedside without facing imprisonment. Despite this sacrifice, Chang expresses no regret, citing her mother’s own encouragement to prioritize her freedom and writing. She concludes with a warning that current leader Xi Jinping is reviving Mao’s superpower ambitions, creating a climate of fear that mirrors the repressive era she originally fled.