Red Lie - by Hua Foley (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Hua Foley grew up in the aftermath of China's Cultural Revolution, searching for glimpses of truth though the lies of the party and her propaganda officer father. After witnessing the Tiananmen massacre, she is forced to escape China. Foley's memoir offers a profound glimpse into the dark and violent days of Mao's era.

Review Quotes

Through subtle and detailed narratives that explore her father's role as a cadre in the Party's propaganda department, as well as the pervasive, capture-all machinery of brainwashing, and his heartbreaking betrayal of his own daughter following the massacre, Hua explores her own experiences of enduring years of indoctrination during her childhood and youth. With a critical eye honed by witnessing the [Tianamen Square] massacre and she offers a thoughtful examination of the Chinese Communist Party that has shaped the lives of her parents, herself, and their entire generations.

With passion and candor, The Red Lie narrates a personal journey of growing up brainwashed, lied to, and betrayed--not only by the Communist regime but also by her own father, a devoted Party member. China's current return to dictatorship proves the book's central message: history does indeed repeat itself. As movers and witnesses of the history, it is our duty to share our stories. With captivating writing, the book offers compelling evidence for academic and policy circles focused on China in the United States and the free world. While elites in the United States and the free world deliberate on the successes and failures of past policies towards China and contemplate future policy directions, this book provides a lens through which to examine both the past and the future.

About the Author

Hua Foley was born in Beijing, China. During her first sixteen years she was a communist believer before discovering the truth of the outside world. In the Mao era, she listened to music played on a record player kept hidden under the floor, read banned books sneaked out from locked library rooms, and became resentful of the cruel world she lived in.
After receiving her Master's degree in communications, she became a university lecturer and the first to introduce public relations into Chinese university classes. Later, she joined a public opinion research team that helped the premier carry out free-market reform.
Following the Tiananmen massacre, she was hunted by martial law soldiers for passing military deployment information to student protesters, forcing her to set out on a harrowing journey of escape to freedom.
She arrived in the United States in 1990, and received her second Master's from Harvard University in 1994. She worked for multinational companies as a business consultant and communications specialist in Boston, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.
Her short narrative nonfiction, A Crack in Everything, was published in Mount Hope magazine in February 2022.