I was born in north-east China in a province that was particularly heavy-handed with party propaganda. I learned to march in formation before knowing how to write, and maybe even count. Every morning at school started with a flag ceremony and obligatory salutes to Mao Zedong. Textbooks were illustrated with watercolour Lenins and Stalins, drawn to look much more handsome than they actually were. T
![Watching a film about communism, I realised I had been lied to as a child in China](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/40e5d7dde1906a7ed6af5be9603c305997c23691/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fmedia%2Ff6a867bd8c6d66444cca9dee49475224272ff5c4%2F0_658_3504_2103%2Fmaster%2F3504.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26overlay-align%3Dbottom%252Cleft%26overlay-width%3D100p%26overlay-base64%3DL2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctYWdlLTIwMjIucG5n%26enable%3Dupscale%26s%3D1a4ef35000600181d0c6eba49af6ad4d)