In a country where economic transformation has reshaped every aspect of life, what happens to those who refuse to follow the path set for them?

In this FT, NYT and Sunday Times book of the year, Yuan Yang shares the gripping, personal stories of four Chinese women navigating ambition, activism, and survival. From June, who fights for an education over a life of pig farming, to Sam, an activist forced into hiding, Private Revolutions is a powerful look at the quiet defiance shaping China’s future.

At The Conduit, Yang, in conversation with journalist and broadcaster Cindy Yu, will explore how individual resistance collides with state power, and what these women’s struggles reveal about modern China. Join us for an intimate and urgent conversation about resilience, freedom, and the price of standing up for yourself in an era of rapid change.

Event Schedule

6:00pm: Pre-event socialising and networking

A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

6:15pm: Event begins

7:30pm: Event ends

Speakers:

Yuan Yang was born in 1990 in China, where she lived with her grandparents for four years before her parents brought her to the UK. She returned to China as an adult, posted there as a correspondent for the Financial Times. After the mass expulsion of journalists from China in 2020, she was one of the few journalists writing in English left in the country, ultimately moving back to the FT’s London headquarters as their China-Europe Correspondent. In 2024, she was elected as the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley, becoming the first Chinese-born MP in British history. Private Revolutions is her debut book.

Cindy Yu is a columnist and contributing editor at The Times and Sunday Times. She was formerly Assistant Editor (Broadcast) at The Spectator, a British current affairs and arts magazine, where she also hosted the magazine’s Chinese Whispers podcast. The podcast was a deep dive into all the intriguing themes of Chinese politics, society and history that often go under the radar of mainstream China reporting.

She was born in Nanjing, China. She read politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford, where she also read for a master of science in contemporary Chinese studies. She has written extensively about China for The Spectator, the Telegraph, Foreign Policy, among others. She is a frequent commentator on China issues for the BBC, TalkTV, RTE News, Channel 4 and GB News.