I wanted to write this book not only to honour my Mom’s story and her individual struggle, but as a commendation to all those who lived and died throughout those trying times. Some scholars have estimated that during the era of 1958 to 1962, which is now known as The Great Leap Forward, around forty-five million people died due to mass starvation, beatings, executions and poorly implemented economic programs. To this day, the Chinese government have downplayed both the situation and the number of deaths, recording only a small fraction of the known, and the estimated unknown. As it stands, it is currently ranked as the highest death toll due to famine in recorded human existence, and is ranked second in the total number of deaths for any cause, behind only World War II.
Those that fled this terrible situation and made the journey across the water from China to British-ruled Hong Kong or the Portuguese-controlled Macau are now known as “Freedom Swimmers.” Although this was never officially recorded, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people attempted to make the swim. Historians and scholars alike generally accept that for every one person caught and arrested by the Chinese government, four evaded the authorities. It was this influx of young, strong, mainland Chinese immigrants that fuelled Hong Kong and Macau’s industrial sector.
It is thanks to my mom’s courage, strength and bravery that I was born and raised in the beauty and freedom of Canada, and for this, I will always be grateful. I hope that this book serves to honour and remember all the Freedom Swimmers, both those who made it and those who didn’t. Theirs is a story that should be told and never forgotten.