Bangkok--Jul 19--Francom Asia
Airtimes:
Saturday, July 23 at 10:00, 21:30 and 24:00 (replays)
Sunday , July 24 at 22:00 (replay)
She was born in China and grew up in a time of turmoil. Her family’s story was immortalized in the book Wild Swans. This weekend, Jung Chang chats one-on-one with TALK ASIA’s Lorraine Hahn about her latest book: Mao, The Unknown Story, about Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Chang and her husband, Jon Halliday, spent a dozen years conducting research for the book and interviewing more than 150 people, including members of Mao’s inner circle. Chang says, as a result, they have a tome that convincingly debunks many of the popular myths around Mao.
“There are so many myths about the Long March, to start with there is the myth that Mao walked about 6,000 miles on foot, heroically. In fact, he was carried most of the time on the litter,” Chang said.
The author also dismisses the theory that Mao was trying to build up China as a military superpower and thus giving his people pride in the motherland.
“People were dying of starvation, what pride was there? And Mao did have [the
] atom bomb. But that bomb cost tens of millions of Chinese lives. Because if we used the money to feed the people, not a single person in China would have to die,” she said.
Log onto CNN’s dedicated website for TALK ASIA, www.CNN.com/talkasia, to find out more about all upcoming guests who are scheduled to appear on the weekly show
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