Swimming to Freedom: My Escape from China and the Cultural Revolution
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- Create Date：2021-04-28 18:31:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kent Wong
- ISBN：1419751506
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Summary
A deeply personal， heart-wrenching memoir of the author's upbringing in Communist China during the Cultural Revolution and his tenacious flight to freedom against all odds
When Kent Wong was a young boy， his father， a patriotic Chinese official in the customs office in Hong Kong， joined an insurrection at work and returned with the family to the newly established People’s Republic of China。 Hailed as heroes， they settled in the southern city of Canton。 But Mao’s China was dangerous and unstable， with landlords executed en masse and millions dying of starvation during the Great Leap Forward。
Kent Wong’s Swimming to Freedom is a memoir of a childhood amid revolutionary times， where boyish adventures and school days mixed with dire poverty and political persecution， and a moving story of an inextinguishable yearning to be free。 Mao’s Hundred Flower Campaign ensnared Kent’s father。 A decade later the Cultural Revolution closed schools， plunged the country into chaos， and scattered Kent and his sisters to disparate villages where they struggled to eke out a bare existence。 Kent began to realize that with higher education closed to him （as the son of a “capitalist rightist”）， he had no future in China。 So， when he hooked up with a dissident underground and heard about fellow countrymen braving extraordinary hardship to reach freedom by swimming across miles of open water to Hong Kong， he decided to risk his life for a better future。
Swimming to Freedom is an extraordinary account of a largely unknown chapter in history， when an estimated half million “Freedom Swimmers” risked everything to escape hardship and oppression。 It is a gripping memoir and a moving testament to the human spirit。
When Kent Wong was a young boy， his father， a patriotic Chinese official in the customs office in Hong Kong， joined an insurrection at work and returned with the family to the newly established People’s Republic of China。 Hailed as heroes， they settled in the southern city of Canton。 But Mao’s China was dangerous and unstable， with landlords executed en masse and millions dying of starvation during the Great Leap Forward。
Kent Wong’s Swimming to Freedom is a memoir of a childhood amid revolutionary times， where boyish adventures and school days mixed with dire poverty and political persecution， and a moving story of an inextinguishable yearning to be free。 Mao’s Hundred Flower Campaign ensnared Kent’s father。 A decade later the Cultural Revolution closed schools， plunged the country into chaos， and scattered Kent and his sisters to disparate villages where they struggled to eke out a bare existence。 Kent began to realize that with higher education closed to him （as the son of a “capitalist rightist”）， he had no future in China。 So， when he hooked up with a dissident underground and heard about fellow countrymen braving extraordinary hardship to reach freedom by swimming across miles of open water to Hong Kong， he decided to risk his life for a better future。
Swimming to Freedom is an extraordinary account of a largely unknown chapter in history， when an estimated half million “Freedom Swimmers” risked everything to escape hardship and oppression。 It is a gripping memoir and a moving testament to the human spirit。
Reviews
Bk Z
，
Everything is context。 It's a workman like account of what he and his family endured towards the end of cultural revolution。 If you like this story， dig deeper。 I grew up in HK and "escaped" to the US just a few years before Wong got back to HK in his 3rd attempt。 I remember the news when I was young when there were many dead bodies flowing down the river/delta from China/Canton。 And how to trace back the suffering and success of Wong and many immigrants？ I never forget the west forced the corru Everything is context。 It's a workman like account of what he and his family endured towards the end of cultural revolution。 If you like this story， dig deeper。 I grew up in HK and "escaped" to the US just a few years before Wong got back to HK in his 3rd attempt。 I remember the news when I was young when there were many dead bodies flowing down the river/delta from China/Canton。 And how to trace back the suffering and success of Wong and many immigrants？ I never forget the west forced the corrupted and weak Chinese government to buy opium to lower their trade deficit。 。。。more
Vonda
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Author Kent Wong shares about his upbringing in China。 He writes， “It was hard to find out the truth in China。” Indeed， the government regularly lied to the people， put out propaganda and false news （“Newspapers kept reporting this false information to warm the hearts of every Chinese。”）， encouraged tattling or disparaging neighbors （“in China， bribery was a must-have skill”）， and perpetuated a cultural practice of “saving face。” In exposing the meaning of ”saving face”， Wong says， “When someone Author Kent Wong shares about his upbringing in China。 He writes， “It was hard to find out the truth in China。” Indeed， the government regularly lied to the people， put out propaganda and false news （“Newspapers kept reporting this false information to warm the hearts of every Chinese。”）， encouraged tattling or disparaging neighbors （“in China， bribery was a must-have skill”）， and perpetuated a cultural practice of “saving face。” In exposing the meaning of ”saving face”， Wong says， “When someone broke a social rule。。。the neighbors would inevitably learn about it—and sure enough， it would spread throughout the neighborhood， causing the kid’s parents to lose face。 For。。。all Chinese of sound mind， saving face in public was of upmost importance。” This practice certainly contributed to the country’s problems and increased distrust of neighbors。 Young Chinese were enrolled in the Young Pioneers。 “The grand purpose of the Young Pioneers was to make sure we believed that communism was our common goal。” Despite living within the confines of his culture， and being surrounded by the cultural praise of communism， Wong matured and began to separate the truth from the lies。Wong was not persuaded to live by these rules as he began to think for himself。 He had a yearning for truth and freedom。 He could see the lies and only played the game to a certain extent in order to survive。 He could see what this broken system was doing to his parents， particularly his father， draining away his spirit。 Wong displayed courage and didn’t conform。 Eventually he began to plan his escape。 I will let you discover the remaining details on your own。My key takeaways from this book are: *Freedom is of utmost important。 The human spirit yearns for it。 *Socialism and Communism steal much from the people they try to control。 And yet nothing can stop an indomitable spirit。* The bonds of family will always supersede bonds of government， though government will try to supplant the family through separation， education， etc。Here are my two cents on these topics。 This book is timely in that American government seems to be trying to offer the American people more。 Many seem to want socialism。 Socialized medicine。 Government hand outs。 Big government is getting bigger all the time。 They want to convince us that what they can offer us is better than what we can achieve on our own。 We don’t want to exchange our freedoms for safety nets。 These things will come with strings attached。 Working hard is always better than being controlled for a free slice of bread。I received an arc copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion。 。。。more
Jena Henry
，
This is a memoir of hope and perseverance。 The author Kent Wong was born in China after World War II and lived under Mao’s communist regime until he was a young adult。 He grew up in Canton， China and he had a hard-working father， a wonderful Mother and four sisters。 He worked hard in school and followed the Chinese cultural DNA- conformity and obedience。 The book features many of the fun and interesting times he had growing up， interspersed with wry Chinese proverbs。 By the time the author was i This is a memoir of hope and perseverance。 The author Kent Wong was born in China after World War II and lived under Mao’s communist regime until he was a young adult。 He grew up in Canton， China and he had a hard-working father， a wonderful Mother and four sisters。 He worked hard in school and followed the Chinese cultural DNA- conformity and obedience。 The book features many of the fun and interesting times he had growing up， interspersed with wry Chinese proverbs。 By the time the author was in high school， he was swept up in the Cultural Revolution and he and two of his sisters were sent down to a village to live and work with the peasants on the land。 Still， Dr。 Wong always yearned for a better world。 “Hope is one of the few luxuries the Chinese were ‘legally allowed’。” Through friends， he listened to the Voice of America and he dreamt of going to America。 He learned of the freedom swimmers and he explored how to go about swimming from China to British Hong Kong。 （It is estimated that 550，000 Chinese swam to Hong Kong）。 How he prepared and made his perilous escape attempt is exciting reading。In the book’s Epilogue we learn of his success and happiness as he and his family achieved their dreams in America。 Let freedom ring。 I want to thank the author for his inspiration and willingness to share the truths about life in Communist China。 Reading this book was a humbling experience。Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Press for an advance digital review copy。 This is my honest review。 。。。more
Jennifer
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I have always enjoyed reading memoirs and biographies。 Kent Wong's story has really stayed with me。 I learned a lot about what life was like in China for him and his brave and dangerous escape。 This memoir really made me appreciative of many things I take for granted in my everyday life。 I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction and biographies。 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review。 I have always enjoyed reading memoirs and biographies。 Kent Wong's story has really stayed with me。 I learned a lot about what life was like in China for him and his brave and dangerous escape。 This memoir really made me appreciative of many things I take for granted in my everyday life。 I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction and biographies。 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review。 。。。more
Mario’s Library
，
Swimming to Freedom by Kent Wong Rate ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 “Hope was always alive in a freedom swimmer’s heart。” Kent Wong The author opens his heart， his fears， his worries and his hopes for his family， country and the World。 The author shares his personal stories of what life was like in China， from working in the villages， going to school， life in the city， working in peasant villages and being separated from parents。 Wong is trying to escape to Hong Kong， and then to America。 His life is hard， but Swimming to Freedom by Kent Wong Rate ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 “Hope was always alive in a freedom swimmer’s heart。” Kent Wong The author opens his heart， his fears， his worries and his hopes for his family， country and the World。 The author shares his personal stories of what life was like in China， from working in the villages， going to school， life in the city， working in peasant villages and being separated from parents。 Wong is trying to escape to Hong Kong， and then to America。 His life is hard， but he has family and friends who believe in him。 He describes his plans of escape in detail which was very interesting to read， plus the consequences of his failed attempts are very sad to read。 This book is an important piece of history from someone who survived， escape and lived in China during traumatic years。 Not only him， but millions of people lived there with similar or with the same life and social issues。 Kent Wong tells a story that needs to be told again and again。 He was one of the 550，000 freedom swimmers to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution。 While reading the book you felt the pain and sadness of the people who lived there at that time in China。 Mao's record as a leader of China is very mixed and it can be argued that he was both a good and bad leader。The book shows that every Mao’s Act or every event to improve China has failed。 The only thing that I know is that Mao was successful in leading the communist party， surviving the Civil War and a war against the Japanese。 He is the most outstanding for having more deaths attributed to his leadership than any other person in history。I was surprised by some events in the book。 One of them being that if they have a newspaper with Mao’s picture and if they put that paper in the garbage or if they wrapped food with paper， and they found out， they were automatically arrested， convicted and even sentenced to death。 It's an amazing and powerful book。 It's going to stay in my heart for a long time！ I cannot wait to buy a physical copy of this book。 I highly recommend the book！ Thank you NetGalley and Abrams Press （@abramsbook） for providing me ARC。 Expected date: April 27， 2021Genre: Autobiography Publisher: Abrams Press 。。。more
Claudia
，
This was an excellent autobiography。 What was it really like to live in China in the 1950s， 60s， and 70s？ Kent Wong shares his personal experiences and explains customs， traditions， and the culture of Communist China during this period。 He shares stories about growing up in China， going to school， being "reeducated"， life in cities and peasant villages。 Of course， he details his plans and escape attempts and the consequences of capture。 Swimming to Hong Kong was a common escape route。 Wong coope This was an excellent autobiography。 What was it really like to live in China in the 1950s， 60s， and 70s？ Kent Wong shares his personal experiences and explains customs， traditions， and the culture of Communist China during this period。 He shares stories about growing up in China， going to school， being "reeducated"， life in cities and peasant villages。 Of course， he details his plans and escape attempts and the consequences of capture。 Swimming to Hong Kong was a common escape route。 Wong cooperated with many other people， some who made it and others who did not。 In the epilogue， Wong describes what he did after he left China and the sacrifices and hard work that contributed to his personal success。 He is an amazing person with a fascinating and inspirational story。 This book is beautifully written and immediately engrossing。 I was rooting for Wong， his friends， and family until the last page。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
PollyStyrene
，
Under what circumstances would you swim 6 miles at night， in rough water， with no navigation， chancing sharks and currents that could pull you out to sea？ To escape the horror of mass repression in Mao's communist China， Ken Wong and thousands of others， in desperation， risked or lost their lives trying to escape authoritarian rule。The writer brings to life in a very personal way the Hundred Flowers Campaign， the death by starvation of 36 million during the Great Leap Forward， the Red Guard and Under what circumstances would you swim 6 miles at night， in rough water， with no navigation， chancing sharks and currents that could pull you out to sea？ To escape the horror of mass repression in Mao's communist China， Ken Wong and thousands of others， in desperation， risked or lost their lives trying to escape authoritarian rule。The writer brings to life in a very personal way the Hundred Flowers Campaign， the death by starvation of 36 million during the Great Leap Forward， the Red Guard and the Cultural Revolution。 Wong describes the Red Guard in a manner that parallels what we saw in Portland over the summer - violence， destruction and theft using ideology as an excuse。 I believe this book to be very important at a time in North America when our culture is shifting towards marxism。 It cautions us to value and make the most of the freedoms and opportunity that democracy offers。 。。。more
Sharen
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This is a book about perseverance and survival。 It shows the inside details of some traumatic years in China's history as we watch how Wong's experiences fueled his desire to escape and make it to Hong Kong， freedom， and eventually America。 It is a unique glimpse into what happened during the Cultural Revolution in China。 The world needs to hear different voices sharing their experiences such as Wong's。 To understand an immigrant's plight or refugee's life prior to reaching the US or Canada （for This is a book about perseverance and survival。 It shows the inside details of some traumatic years in China's history as we watch how Wong's experiences fueled his desire to escape and make it to Hong Kong， freedom， and eventually America。 It is a unique glimpse into what happened during the Cultural Revolution in China。 The world needs to hear different voices sharing their experiences such as Wong's。 To understand an immigrant's plight or refugee's life prior to reaching the US or Canada （for example） should be read and shared far and wide。 Those of us blessed to have been born in less challenging places cannot fully comprehend what it takes to overcome hardships we cannot fully understand。 Of course the book is written in the author's second language but that does not stop the story from unfolding。 There is a lot of detail on everyday life in Communist China during the 1950s-70s。 The author's repeated reference to his mother as 'mommy' throughout the book feels a bit off but the author indicates that is accurate and how everyone referred to her。The amazing academic success that his family and circle of friends who left China have in the US is amazing。 'A happy person takes pictures to remember happy moments。''And in a country of extreme nationalism， it is taboo to talk about， write about， or even remember the causes and extent of the wound of the past political movements。'Thank you to Netgalley and Abrams Press @Abramsbooks for allowing me to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Mary
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Kent Wong’s very moving account of his attempts and escape from Mao’s China to Hong Kong。I have learned this year that I very much enjoy memoirs by courageous， determined and inspiring people who overcome the greatest of odds and Kent Wong’s story is no exception 。
Marsha
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Reading a memoir from this survivor of Mao's China makes me thankful for everyday comforts， freedoms and dignities that people in the west often take for granted。 Kent Wong and his family lived through the horrors of mass repression during the Hundred Flowers Campaign， then the starvation of 36 million during the Great Leap Forward （chillingly similar to Stalin's first 5 year plan and the Holodomor）， and years later， the Cultural Revolution。 Determined to find freedom for himself and his family， Reading a memoir from this survivor of Mao's China makes me thankful for everyday comforts， freedoms and dignities that people in the west often take for granted。 Kent Wong and his family lived through the horrors of mass repression during the Hundred Flowers Campaign， then the starvation of 36 million during the Great Leap Forward （chillingly similar to Stalin's first 5 year plan and the Holodomor）， and years later， the Cultural Revolution。 Determined to find freedom for himself and his family， Kent becomes one of the thousands of young people who try to escape by swimming to Hong Kong， and when he fails and is imprisoned， he tries again and again。 He finally succeeds and ends up coming to the US， being accepted into Harvard Medical School and becoming a physician。 Such hard work and determination。 I highly recommend this enthralling book！Thank you #netgally 。。。more
Patrick Pilz
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This is not your average polished biography and certainly will not win awards for its writing。 The story though is still engrossing， when you follow "Kent" through his upbringing under Mao Zedong and his eventual escape to the USA via Hong Kong。 It is one of those surprising stories I have never heard before。 You can tell from the sentence structure and the linear story telling that this book was written by someone whose English is not his first language， but on the other side， you can hear him This is not your average polished biography and certainly will not win awards for its writing。 The story though is still engrossing， when you follow "Kent" through his upbringing under Mao Zedong and his eventual escape to the USA via Hong Kong。 It is one of those surprising stories I have never heard before。 You can tell from the sentence structure and the linear story telling that this book was written by someone whose English is not his first language， but on the other side， you can hear him almost speaking to you in your head with his Chinese accent as you follow along his life， It makes the book very personal and believable， despite the fact that it is sometimes not as much fun to read。 But I am not sure if the book would be much better if a professional editor would bring out that big editing pen。 。。。more
bambu78
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I was so lucky to get an ARC of this book through Edelweiss。 My honest opinion is here: https://gabrieleisland。blogspot。com/2。。。 I was so lucky to get an ARC of this book through Edelweiss。 My honest opinion is here: https://gabrieleisland。blogspot。com/2。。。 。。。more
Sterling Shanks
，
I have really enjoyed reading memoirs this year。 This memoir centers around Kent Wong。 He was one of the 550 thousand swimmers who during the 70s swam to escape the Maoist regime in mainland China。There is so much of China’s history during this time period that I admittedly just didn’t know about。 You get to be let in on its history from a very personal level through the story of Wong’s family and how they and many others were affected by the regime。 Some of what he and his family went through i I have really enjoyed reading memoirs this year。 This memoir centers around Kent Wong。 He was one of the 550 thousand swimmers who during the 70s swam to escape the Maoist regime in mainland China。There is so much of China’s history during this time period that I admittedly just didn’t know about。 You get to be let in on its history from a very personal level through the story of Wong’s family and how they and many others were affected by the regime。 Some of what he and his family went through is unimaginable。 His story shows what drive a dream can have on a person’s life to move forward even when things are bleak。Thank you net galley for the advanced copy。 I would recommend this to those who loves memoirs and history。 。。。more
Kathryn Barnett
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