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What I Learned About Freedom in a Secret Chinese Prison | Lei Cheng | TED

Accused of leaking state secrets, journalist Lei Cheng was imprisoned in China for more than three years, where she was detained in tight quarters and kept under constant supervision. “Freedom is wasted on the free,” she says, recounting how she and fellow inmates found joy in the smallest of moments: the smell of rain, a…

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Accused of leaking state secrets, journalist Lei Cheng was imprisoned in China for more than three years, where she was detained in tight quarters and kept under constant supervision. “Freedom is wasted on the free,” she says, recounting how she and fellow inmates found joy in the smallest of moments: the smell of rain, a poem delivered in secrecy, kindness where it seemed undeserved. She distills the unexpected lessons that confinement taught her — and challenges us to rethink what freedom really means. (Recorded at TED2025 on April 9, 2025)

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#TED #TEDTalks #Freedom

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69 Comments

69 Comments

  1. @MrLionniol

    June 24, 2025 at 11:23 am

    Glad she finally managed to escape to the land of the free where nobody is ever imprisoned for leaking state secrets.

    • @jotape420

      June 24, 2025 at 11:24 am

      😂😂😂😂😂

    • @sibylsibyl5323

      June 24, 2025 at 11:25 am

      😂😂😂😂

  2. @meanderinoranges

    June 24, 2025 at 11:24 am

    First TED talk I’ve seen in years that I actually found enlightening. Please don’t make this an accident.

    • @jotape420

      June 24, 2025 at 3:01 pm

      100 propaganda anti China, just fake history

  3. @havo5684

    June 24, 2025 at 11:25 am

    *Anyone in 2611?* 💖

  4. @walkerg1845

    June 24, 2025 at 11:31 am

    spy😂

  5. @ExistentialWolf

    June 24, 2025 at 11:32 am

    Depending from where you come from in station makes a big difference. Rural people generally don’t blame others for the weather, so money has no value over that of a new comer. Making do is effort enough, so grandparents tend to collect the few dollars a family may receive. The world is smaller, but the human spirit fills it in many ways others may disregard. The kind of freedom segregation afforded in cities gives value to money, to find new station in life rather than toil in the streets or earth. When city mouse comes to country mouse the stories of the lions they’ve freed from bondage come out too. You can imagine in that little borrow by candle light the two mice staring through each other listening to one another feeling the need for they’re individual freedoms. Freedom is of choice. I agree losing choice is bewildering especially when your life has lost it’s horizon. Each mouse goes to sleep understanding their own choices, neither envies the other’s freedoms, but mind their own future decisions carefully.

  6. @Ozempic-666

    June 24, 2025 at 11:38 am

    人情似纸张张薄,世事如棋局局新

  7. @Akaishiui

    June 24, 2025 at 11:48 am

    Your English accent so pure! You must a really pure Chinese people!

  8. @massage_world

    June 24, 2025 at 11:50 am

    What I learned in a secret American prison is that the US is no different from China and Russia.

  9. @rubensilvestre3645

    June 24, 2025 at 11:53 am

    ❤️❤️❤️👍🏻

  10. @vesawuoristo4162

    June 24, 2025 at 12:20 pm

    Trump supporters, pay attention .

  11. @SyddG

    June 24, 2025 at 12:38 pm

    I am way late to the TED talk party but the comments on this video made so far does not inspire hope that these type of videos are changing people for the better.

  12. @Luke-z2l

    June 24, 2025 at 1:03 pm

    You have to be under someone’s rule. Being free in society has its rules and regulations. Freedom for every individual will have conditions and boundaries. None can truly be free ever. Life has parameters. We can get close to free, within a community you feel in union with is close nit feel. Freedom is usually an individual approach superman like journey and conquer yourself climb a mountain feeling of achieving your goal. Freedom is problematic to cohesion of the masses. Example, though shall do as thou wants? Satanists Motto,… Freedom at last??? Unless anarchy is your ideal world freedom is liberty in progress or in chase of what conserves. Free the mind

  13. @jinzixin798

    June 24, 2025 at 1:12 pm

    This is a spy, and she was prisoned by the law of China. By the way, many Chinese think she should be in prison for live or took the death sentense. China is too kind with forign spies, like always.

  14. @HieouyaAgnèsDoyo

    June 24, 2025 at 2:58 pm

    I am at the beginning of my “investment journey”, planning to put 250K into dividend stocks so that I will be making up to 30% annually in dividend returns. any good stock recommendation on great performing stocks will be appreciated!!

    • @HieouyaAgnèsDoyo

      June 24, 2025 at 2:59 pm

      how would you suggest i enter the crypto market? I am also looking at studying pro traders and using their strategy than investing myself. what’s your take on this? How can i reach him please???

  15. @produceman13

    June 24, 2025 at 3:05 pm

    “Freedom is wasted on the free”… the best quote ever.

  16. @王瑜-m2c

    June 24, 2025 at 3:15 pm

    为什么ted要让国家叛徒刑事罪犯上台演讲?

  17. @IyRaVD

    June 24, 2025 at 3:57 pm

    👏👏👏

  18. @kinsmed

    June 24, 2025 at 4:42 pm

    You wonder if Lei has always had that perspective.
    Or if the resilience from this oppression unlocked something primal.

  19. @PuranPandre-kj7lb

    June 24, 2025 at 5:02 pm

    I wasn’t going to post anything here, but something nudged me to. Maybe because I know what it’s like to be scrolling through comments, hoping for something to click some small sign that you’re not crazy for wanting more. For a long time, I was doing all the “right” things, but still feeling stuck. It’s like I could see the life I wanted, but couldn’t reach it. I didn’t have language for what I was missing until I found The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas. It didn’t force me into some flashy transformation it just helped me see how the laws behind reality actually work. It showed me how to stop forcing and start aligning. If that speaks to where you’re at, maybe this will find you like it found me.

  20. @ramsavareyadav7552

    June 24, 2025 at 5:02 pm

    To anyone reading this we’ve never met, but I genuinely hope the best for you. If you’re going through something right now, I get it. I spent years chasing goals but never actually feeling in control of the outcomes. I believed effort alone was enough… until I found The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas. That book opened my eyes to the real reasons things were stuck. Since reading it, not only has my income shifted my entire energy feels different. Life responds differently when you understand how it’s wired. If you’re seeing this, maybe it’s because something in you is ready. Wishing you peace and everything you’ve been waiting for ❤️❤️

  21. @NavinChauhan-o4f

    June 24, 2025 at 5:02 pm

    If you’re reading this, just know I’m rooting for you. I don’t know you, but I know what it’s like to feel like you’re pushing and trying and still… nothing moves. That’s how I felt until I read The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas. I saw someone mention it in a comment, and out of curiosity, I checked it out. What I found inside those pages changed how I see everything. Reality is not what we’ve been taught. Once I started using what the book teaches, things started flowing clarity, opportunities, even money. I don’t know what led you here, but maybe this is your moment too. Keep going. It’s closer than you think 💰✨

  22. @I_M_GAMER339

    June 24, 2025 at 5:15 pm

    Tears are forming while I write this because I never understood why I felt so distant from the life I was working so hard to build. On paper, things looked great a solid job, a supportive partner but something still felt hollow. Like I was playing by rules that didn’t apply to me. Then I read The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas, and I can’t explain how deeply it hit. It’s not just another mindset book it revealed the deeper mechanics of how this universe really responds to us. I feel like I finally stepped into the version of me that always existed under the surface. Selene… thank you. You changed everything 💕

    • @lordandladyvegas

      June 25, 2025 at 11:22 am

      If you look, you will find youtube replies about The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas all over the internet, on basketball videos, gaming videos, financial advice videos, and everything else. Clearly there is a bot spamming about this product trying to data poison the internet wtih information about it. Never are these comments related to the actual video they are posted with.

  23. @KARAN10082

    June 24, 2025 at 5:15 pm

    Sometimes the most unexpected things end up reaching us in ways we didn’t even know we needed like a quiet reminder that maybe reality is more malleable than we were told. I wasn’t really searching for anything, just moving through the motions, feeling a subtle disconnect, like something was trying to get my attention. When I came across The Cancelled Laws of Reality by Selene Veritas, I didn’t think much of it at first but it ended up being exactly what I needed. It helped me see how I’d been unintentionally blocking what I wanted, and how to shift things from the inside out. If you’ve been feeling a little off-track too, maybe this is the same quiet push you’ve been waiting for.

  24. @moudson1

    June 24, 2025 at 6:20 pm

    I guess most people did Not take the time to listen to her beyond her intro😅 quite enlightening, isn’t it? But I think we do not knew scarcity/jail time to appreciate freedom. All we need is a little bit of awareness.

  25. @sallyh9912

    June 24, 2025 at 6:52 pm

    Lei Cheng is a Top Aussie ❤

  26. @Chenximuchen

    June 24, 2025 at 10:41 pm

    就是大间谍 活该被关起来 应该判你无期徒刑。

  27. @BrianMcInnis87

    June 24, 2025 at 11:59 pm

    0:22 Seems like it’d be more worth putting a warning on talks that contain immature language.

  28. @Wes-Tyler

    June 25, 2025 at 12:43 am

    TED can’t even get the names of their speakers right.

  29. @dylanmerner7790

    June 25, 2025 at 12:51 am

    She doesn’t have a clue what she is talking about

  30. @fisherpeace560

    June 25, 2025 at 1:07 am

    how do the United States torture people suspected of “terrorism”? Guantanamo?come on, everyone, go read the book “The American Trap”

  31. @stereodark

    June 25, 2025 at 2:20 am

    This was deeply touching, the best TED talk I’ve listened to in years.

  32. @R.A.Mannino

    June 25, 2025 at 3:57 am

    Amazing, I have done 8.5 years in American prison so yes not as strict, However everything you described is SO ACCURATE, feelings, emotions, and what you really miss
    Thank you for sharing

  33. @LordAugastus

    June 25, 2025 at 9:18 am

    Consumer det slavery, big brother, fascism, bot and information and idea control in the west isn’t freedom… We live in open air prisons, whilst authoritarian states have more traditional forms of control.

    True freedom is for those who can afford it, which is the 1%-10%, the rest of us dont even have capital let alone ability to afford freedom. Ted is just sliding down hill on American MSM propaganda mill…

  34. @7l680

    June 25, 2025 at 11:04 am

    I’m very puzzled why there are so many irrelevant comments in the comment section.🤔

    • @lordandladyvegas

      June 25, 2025 at 11:27 am

      There are bots spamming comments on youtube videos with high viewing, that are promoting unrelated products and data poisoning the internet with their propoganda.

  35. @billxiao1261

    June 25, 2025 at 11:22 am

    叛徒

  36. @Ethan2010ism

    June 25, 2025 at 12:00 pm

    They always say they want freedom, so what the freedom actually is? They never give definition! They only emphasize their terribleness but they never tell why it happens to them! There is a lot still believes them without any thinking! Really funny!

    • @ivannovotny4552

      June 26, 2025 at 1:59 am

      You’ll find out after you lose it …

  37. @edenfinch5299

    June 25, 2025 at 1:49 pm

    I followed her news but I didn’t know she was out…may she live life in the fullest posibble way from here on and I greatly thank her for those captivating speech.

  38. @lyttlebee

    June 25, 2025 at 2:13 pm

    Failed Opportunist, simply put.

  39. @lyttlebee

    June 25, 2025 at 2:18 pm

    Ted is so declining that it now needs to invites criminals to talk

  40. @MyMushroom

    June 25, 2025 at 3:38 pm

    Wt abt Palestine🇵🇸

  41. @EmilyH5159

    June 25, 2025 at 6:36 pm

    You’re a very successful secret agent, everyone in China knows you🎉

  42. @zhenhuachen6611

    June 25, 2025 at 7:07 pm

    这都可以分享

  43. @calebhoffman.17

    June 25, 2025 at 8:46 pm

    great ❤

  44. @brettkeith.9242

    June 25, 2025 at 8:46 pm

    great video i really enjoyed it!

  45. @junjiehu8565

    June 25, 2025 at 8:59 pm

    A spy talk about freedom? Largest joke I have ever heared of.

    • @呆湾-d9b

      June 26, 2025 at 6:55 pm

      Why do you say she is a spy? Are there some reason?

    • @刘言-j8w

      June 26, 2025 at 7:30 pm

      @@呆湾-d9byou’re the green frog

  46. @yichen3023

    June 25, 2025 at 9:55 pm

    why do spies enjoy freedom?

  47. @urbanstrencan

    June 26, 2025 at 1:24 am

    What a great talk, we really don’t know what freedom is until it’s taken away

  48. @80_kanon_08

    June 26, 2025 at 2:28 am

    Freedom is a waste, get ready for CCP oversight……. the restriction is good for you and it’ll make you more creative.

  49. @s16er

    June 26, 2025 at 2:48 am

    TED could be the next website to be banned in China but freedom is crucial to humanity which CCP government has always been against to.

  50. @deanweaver4469

    June 26, 2025 at 2:52 am

    Hello dear friend 👋 Thanks for your wisdom and kindness 🙏

  51. @deanweaver4469

    June 26, 2025 at 2:54 am

    Please pass her story as much as possible🧑‍🤝‍🧑💖🙏

  52. @ZhimianZhang

    June 26, 2025 at 5:53 am

    Spy, everyone hate you😂Nobody will like a person who used to be a spy

  53. @yuchen_chen

    June 26, 2025 at 8:00 am

    爱情是什么?每个人都有自己的答案,试图用统一的语言界定何为爱情,反而容易让这一深刻而复杂的情感显得苍白无力。自由亦如此。它从来不是某种单一的定义,而是一种被不断诠释、不断体验的存在。真正的自由,不是某个人、某个群体,或某个国家拥有对它的解释权,而是我们每一个人都拥有理解它、表达它、实践它的可能性。自由的本质,或许就在于它能够被自由地理解。

  54. @flieu9342

    June 26, 2025 at 8:26 am

    shame on you Ted. Invite spy and criminal

  55. @johnjk3118

    June 26, 2025 at 8:44 am

    can we have cartel in ted now. In stead of spy.

  56. @findinglang2003

    June 26, 2025 at 11:23 am

    NOT DECENT WOMAN, SPY

  57. @donniegou9522

    June 26, 2025 at 12:57 pm

    News here said she is a spy, and it was few years ago…. I m so surprised she is on TED today so looks like she is out of China now. 😀

  58. @Will-pz2fw

    June 26, 2025 at 4:45 pm

    She is actually a spy lol😂😂😂

  59. @刘言-j8w

    June 26, 2025 at 7:29 pm

    So incredible A spicy criminal who was ordered by Australia and then is treated as a hero in western

  60. @jackmasonen

    June 26, 2025 at 7:36 pm

    Imagine if the CCCP conquers the world …

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