This is an online Zoom lecture by Mark O’Neill, it will be linked to his book China’s Russian Princess: The Silent Wife of Chiang Ching-kuo.

For years, Faina, the Russian wife of Chiang Kai-shek's son Ching-kuo, was a missing link in our understanding of 20th century China. Mark O'Neill's new biography tells an astonishing story of a young woman who started as a Soviet factory worker and found herself deeply entwined in the political turmoil of the formation of modern China. This is not just a story of a political couple, but rather a wide-ranging and compelling tale of the forces that shaped a political generation - and eventually, democracy in Taiwan.

The Speaker

Mark O'Neill is an author and journalist.

Mark O'Neill was born in Britain in 1950 and educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford, where he graduated in English Language and Literature. 

He worked in Washington DC, Manchester, England and Belfast, before moving to Hong Kong in 1978. He has lived in Asia since then, working in Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, China and Japan, for the Reuters news agency and the South China Morning Post. Currently, he is a contributor writer for the Macao magazine. He resides in Hong Kong and works as an author and journalist. He speaks English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese.

Access to online lectures

The RASHK hosts online lectures over the Zoom application, downloadable on computer at https://zoom.us/ or smartphone on any app store.

Specific details to access the Zoom calls that we will be using will be circulated via correspondence emails prior to each online lecture.

Admission: free of charge

Booking: If you intend to attend an online lecture, please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk to let us know in advance.