Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.1.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Helene Chung Martin Australian journalist, author & speaker ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://helenechung.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Henry Family Stories](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/henry-family-stories/) - DOWNLOAD PDF – HENRY FAMILY TREE DOWNLOAD PDF – HENRY FAMILY STORIES - [DOROTHY, OUR MOTHER](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/dorothy-our-mother/) - DOWNLOAD PDF – DOROTHY, OUR MOTHER - [Gin Chung HENRY Commemoration](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/gin-chung-henry-commemoration/) - DOWNLOAD PDF – GIN CHUNG HENRY MING COURT DOWNLOAD PDF – GIN CHUNG HENRY’S LIFE - [Willi Chung Sing Commemoration W 3 January 2024](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/willi-chung-sing-commemoration-w-3-january-2024/) - Willi Chung Sing CommemorationKwan Ho Restaurant, Wrest Point, HobartWednesday 3 January 202412 noon Willi Chung Sing’s account of early decades of hardship abroad*https://helenechung.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/willi-chung-sing-17-08-27.pdfhttps://helenechung.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Journal-of-Chinese-Australia-Translation.pdf Willi Chung Sing Family - [My Model Mother, Tasmanian Ancestry, September 2024](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/my-model-mother-tasmanian-ancestry-september-2024/) - DOWNLOAD PDF - [Eulogy to Cousin Anne](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/eulogy-to-cousin-anne/) - [My Mother, Dorothy’s Funeral](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/my-mother-dorothys-funeral/) - [Dragon Tails November 22](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/dragon-tails-november-22/) - Two Unique Tasmanian Chinese: Xinhui farmer’s son - My father, Charles: fruit merchant, restaurateur, artist in retirement: Taishan tin miner’s daughter - My mother, Dorothy: scarlet woman to fervent Catholic. Dragon Tails Australasian Chinese Diaspora Conference, Opening Keynote presentation, Friday 11 November 2022, Queen Victoria, Launceston, Tasmania Download Presentation PDF (152mb) - [Liminal Interviews Helene Chung](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/liminal-interviews-helene-chung/) - [No Knife on my Silk Road](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/no-knife-on-my-silk-road/) - NO KNIFE ON MY SILK ROADA pictorial presentationby Helene ChungImages by Helene Chung unless indicated otherwiseMay 2019 unless indicated otherwise© www.helenechung.com Pronounced He-LANE Chung as in HUNGSinging Sand Dunes, Gansu(Chinese photographer) China’s Silk Road from Xian (Changan) to Kashgar Centre of Xian, capital of Shaanxi ProvinceBell Tower Hotel, Bell Tower Population 9 mFormerly called ChanganXian - [Death of Tasmania's Chinese Elder](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/death-of-tasmanias-chinese-elder/) - The Mercury, Wednesday 2 January 2019 Journalist Helene Chung remembers her late father, Tasmanian businessman Charles Chung When, in his 99th year, my father Charles (Pak Koon) Chung died on Sunday 23 December, he ended the era of second-generation Chinese Tasmanian families dating from the 1880s. The youngest of five, Charles was born in 1920 - [Charles Chung Death Notices](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/charles-chung-death-notices/) - The Mercury, Monday 24 December 2018 - [Dynasty Head Dies At 98](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/dynasty-head-dies-at-98/) - The Mercury, Wednesday 26 December 2018 - [Helene Chung’s Family Background: Tasmanian Tin Miners, Addicts and Merchants](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/helene-chungs-family-background-tasmanian-tin-miners-addicts-and-merchants-july-2000/) - Helene Chung Martin | Monash Asia Institute In 1901, the year of Federation, my maternal grandfather, Gin Chung, arrived in the northeast Tasmanian mining town of Weldborough. He came to join his father. In the 1880s my great grandfather was lured by the prospect of tin to risk the arduous journey from the southern Chinese - [Seeking My Chinese Roots](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/seeking-my-chinese-roots-a-tasmanian-taishan-dream/) - A Tasmanian Taishan Dream In 1984 fourth-generation Chinese Tasmanian Helene Chung failed in a three-pronged pursuit to find her Dragon Field Village. Three decades on, in March 2017 the Hobart-born former ABC China correspondent went hunting again. My first Dragon Field search was thrust upon me by eager Chinese officials. From Beijing I negotiated with - [Village dream (tasweekend JULY 22-23, 2017)](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/village-dream/) - My first search for my ancestral village was thrust upon me by eager Chinese officials in 1984 when I was working as a foreign correspondent. From Beijing I organised a trip to Guangdong Province in the south of China to film families in the Four Counties area whose ancestors ventured to Australia’s gold and tin - [Dragon Field Village with Chinese Police (Guangdong News Online Sa 18.3.17)](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/dragon-field-village-with-chinese-police-guangdong-news-online-sa-18-3-17/) - http://gd.qq.com/a/20170318/003419.htm Guangdong News Online, Saturday 18 March 2017 Stony Xiao translation edited by Helene Chung 72 岁的澳大利亚华裔女作家钟海莲，带着 20 多年前亲人在开平祖屋附近拍摄的照片，只 身一人回国寻根问祖。 Seventy-two-year-old author Helene Chung arrived in China with little more than her cousin’s photos taken seven years ago. Yet on 17 March 2017 Kaiping city police tracked down her ancestral village, the home of her - [China Rising: Still Depressing](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/china-rising-still-depressing/) - In the stifling summer of 1983, when I first landed in Peking’s Capital Airport, it was near empty and made stark by the absence of bourgeois advertising. ABC driver Little Li, like his multitude of blue Mao-suited comrades, aspired to the four things that go round: a bicycle, a watch, a fan and a sewing - [Ten Questions for Helene Chung...](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/ten-questions-for-helene-chung/) - Nick Leys | The Australian November 11, 2013 12:00AM Former ABC China correspondent Helene Chung. Source: Supplied THE ABC recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Beijing bureau. One of its former correspondents talks about the challenges of the posting. You were the first female correspondent the ABC sent overseas when you were posted to Beijing - [This (monolingual) life](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/this-monolingual-life/) - HELENE CHUNG | THE AUSTRALIAN OCTOBER 01, 2011 12:00AM Click image to enlarge IN my inner-Melbourne electorate, mail for last year's election campaign began with a pamphlet in six languages, including Greek, Chinese, Somali, Vietnamese and Arabic, all of these double Dutch to me. An Anglo-Celtic politician once sought my support in a letter printed entirely - [Liu Xiaobo for Oslo?](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/liu-xiaobo-for-oslo/) - I had the privilege of meeting the dissident Liu Xiaobo at his home in Beijing and am thrilled he’s been named Nobel Peace Laureate 2010, but I doubt he’ll be released in time to receive his prize in Oslo. He’s serving an eleven-year sentence for his role in Charter 08, which calls for greater human - [Vietnam Rewrites Vietnamese-Australian History: Cameraman Neil Davis’ historic 1st tank renumbered](https://helenechung.com/uncategorized/vietnam-rewrites-vietnamese-australian-history-cameraman-neil-davis-historic-1st-tank-renumbered/) - ‘This was the first tank,’ I protested, pointing to the Russian-built No 843, which I saw as ‘Neil’s’ tank’. ‘No, the Chinese tank was first,’ insisted the Vietnamese guide, directing my gaze back to No 390, which stood ahead of 843 inside the grounds of the renamed Ho Chi Minh City’s Reunification Palace. ‘But 843 ## Pages - [Home](https://helenechung.com/) - Pioneer journalist Helene Chung (He-LANE CHUNG as in HUNG) broke racist and sexist barriers in 1974 to become the first non-white reporter on Australian television and, as Beijing correspondent (1983-86), the first female posted abroad by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Hobart-born fourth-generation Chinese Australian is author of Shouting from China, Gentle John My Love My Loss, Lazy Man in - [Links](https://helenechung.com/links/) - [testing](https://helenechung.com/testing/) - test - [Home Preview](https://helenechung.com/home-preview/) - [Contact](https://helenechung.com/contact/) - If you wish to make a comment, ask a question or want more information on anything on this site, please contact me through this form. PLEASE TYPE YOUR CORRECT E-MAIL address. Otherwise I can't reply. If you don’t receive a message thanking you, there is a computer error. Please try again later, or write to: - [About](https://helenechung.com/about-helene-chung/) - Chinese Australian-born journalist Helene Chung (He-LANE CHUNG as in HUNG), who grew up in an unconventional family in 1950s Anglo-Celtic Hobart. - [Sample Page](https://helenechung.com/sample-page/) - This is an example page. It's different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I'm a bike messenger - [Speaking](https://helenechung.com/speaking/) - China's Transition from Old Communism to New Capitalism Ching Chong China Girl From White to Multicultural Australia ABC to Z of Racism Down Under Love and Loss A Journey through Grief A Tasmanian Chinese Heritage Women Past, Present and Future Shouting from China An Alien in the Motherland A Reporter's Tale From Tasmanian Tiger to - [Articles](https://helenechung.com/articles/) - [Helene's Books](https://helenechung.com/books/) ## Books - [Gentle John My Love My Loss](https://helenechung.com/book/gentle-john-my-love-my-loss/) - This is a story of love, death and grief. John Martin and Helene Chung met as students at the University of Tasmania in 1963. Thirteen years later, when he was a lecturer in history at the Gordon Institute of Technology in Geelong, and she an ABC television reporter in Hobart, she interviewed him on This Day - [Lazy Man in China](https://helenechung.com/book/lazy-man-in-china/) - "This is a China book you read through in one go." DR STEPHEN FITZGERALD, AO Australia's first Ambassador to the People's Republic of China See Lazy Man Images Lazy Man in China is the story of China over two decades — its transition from Old Communism to New Capitalism — intertwined with the love story - [Ching Chong China Girl](https://helenechung.com/book/ching-chong-china-girl/) - "Here is the story of how this Australian-born Chinese Catholic school girl became, in many ways, emblematic of the changing nature of Australia." STEVEN CARROLL In the tradition of Amy Tan, Ching Chong China Girl is a hilarious and bittersweet memoir of growing up different in a very eccentric but traditional Chinese family in Tasmania. Warning: Not - [Shouting From China](https://helenechung.com/book/shouting-from-china/) - Shouting from China tells of Helene’s adventures and tribulations as Beijing correspondent in the 1980s, when she became the first female posted abroad by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Unlike China correspondents today, who have instant clear communication with countries around the world, she had to shout to be heard over an antiquated telephone line. One ## Reviews - [Nina Valentine](https://helenechung.com/review/nina-valentine/) - ‘She claims that she “only peered into a few cracks and crevices of Chinese society,” yet to the uninitiated, she seems to show a great depth of knowledge.’ - [Alistair Nicholas](https://helenechung.com/review/alistair-nicholas/) - ‘Chung recognizes the delicate balance of forces that comprise Chinese politics, the ying and yang of totalitarianism … She adds that it is not possible to be optimistic about liberalization in China with what she had learned about the repressive regime and its violent swings of the pendulum.’ - [Simon Bracegirdle](https://helenechung.com/review/simon-bracegirdle/) - ‘My quandary is whether I should use a lot of valuable Tribune space to warn you not to buy Shouting from China because it’s a lousy book.’ - [Stephanie Dowrick](https://helenechung.com/review/stephanie-dowrick/) - ‘Shouting from China … is ballast to the current romantic idealisations of that vast, complex country.’ - [Veronica Sen](https://helenechung.com/review/veronica-sen/) - ‘Helene Chung … recalls her posting as foreign correspondent in Beijing with a mixture of wry humour and dry analysis.’ - [Margaretta Poss](https://helenechung.com/review/margaretta-poss/) - ‘The land of Helene Chung’s ancestors isolated her, frustrated her, frightened her. As an overseas Chinese, she felt foreign, as a non-Mandarin speaker, she was left out, and as a journalist she was frustrated by its secrecy. Even more frustrating was the Western world’s willingness to accept that secrecy.’ - [Linda Jaivin](https://helenechung.com/review/linda-jaivin/) - ' Helene Chung ‘tells what it’s like to be a foreign correspondent in a country which likes to boast of its “open door” policy while frequently leaving even resident journalists with the feeling that they are standing outside, knocking to come in.’ - [Margaret Jones on a kindred spirit](https://helenechung.com/review/margaret-jones-on-a-kindred-spirit/) - ‘Helene Chung even managed after 10 months of difficult negotiations to set up … the first television interview given by a Chinese leader … a risky manoeuvre of enormous significance for the future. The ABC, however, found it a bit of a yawn, and the interview never went to air.’ - [Jan McGuinness](https://helenechung.com/review/jan-mcguinness/) - ‘When the ABC sent Helene Chung to China she was glad of the chance to see the land of her ancestors. But, born and bred in Australia, she found the country as alien and puzzling as it is to most foreigners.’ - [Caroline Ross](https://helenechung.com/review/caroline-ross/) - ‘SHOUTING from China was a title Helene Chung couldn’t resist … “Thousands of people were executed in my first few months, by a single bullet in the back of the head, for spiritual pollution.”’ - [Noel Shaw](https://helenechung.com/review/noel-shaw/) - ‘Helene Chung was devastated. She has disclosed the intimate thoughts of the last three weeks of her lover’s life, baring her heart and soul.’ - [](https://helenechung.com/review/247/) - ‘a moving testament to the often inexplicable forces that bind couples’ - [](https://helenechung.com/review/260/) - ‘Chung proves an able reporter, adept at sidestepping the interpretations pressed upon her by party representatives.’ - [Janet Croft](https://helenechung.com/review/janet-croft/) - ‘It is extremely sad, but throughout it, the strength of love shared by the couple shines through.’ - [Pat Fraser](https://helenechung.com/review/pat-fraser/) - ‘”You were very brave to tackle the issue. I grieve too. Nothing tastes or even smells any more.” This was one of the many letters journalist Helene Chung Martin received after her appearance … on radio … Most people will finish [this book] feeling as though they have shared a loving couple’s odyssey and have - [R Grahame](https://helenechung.com/review/r-grahame/) - ‘The book is illustrated with photographs, indexed and easy to read.’ - [Lachlan Strahan](https://helenechung.com/review/lachlan-strahan/) - ‘Helene Chung confronts China face on, absorbing some of its culture and identifying its contradictions and flaws, but never losing a basic empathy and respect for the Chinese people.’ - [Simon Patton](https://helenechung.com/review/simon-patton/) - ‘As Chung points out, 1989 signalled the end of Western naivety with respect to China; any reversion to former romantic notions would amount to self-deception.’ - [David McCooney](https://helenechung.com/review/david-mccooney/) - 'Chung notes ‘the students’ lack of homogeneity in their demands, and their confusion over the meaning of democracy. The account is both moving and detached.' - [](https://helenechung.com/review/293/) - ON THE EXPANDED 1989 EDITION INCLUDING THE DEMOCRACY PROTESTS ‘Chung’s reports and later thoughts on Tiananmen make this an informative, thought-provoking read.’ - [](https://helenechung.com/review/288/) - ‘A useful and topical adjunct for history units and the Chinese history component of the Chinese Language syllabus.’ - [](https://helenechung.com/review/286/) - ‘A compelling insight into life in post-Mao China which is part political commentary, part sociological treatise.’ - [Priscilla Nelson-Feaver](https://helenechung.com/review/priscilla-nelson-feaver/) - ‘Those who read Gentle John My Love My Loss will both enjoy the opportunity to be part of this moving story and yet be saddened by another life lost early … a well-written account of an individual’s experience with the death of a much-loved partner.’ - [M Skene](https://helenechung.com/review/m-skene/) - ‘This is a poignant and powerful account of the author’s experience with her husband’s illness and death from cancer … valuable for families and the bereaved, in helping them feel a little less alone.’ - [Mary Rose](https://helenechung.com/review/mary-rose/) - ‘Cancer was just a word to former Hobartian Helene Chung Martin – at least until her long-tine partner John Martin was diagnosed with it … a very emotional description of Helene’s thoughts, hopes, fears and memories in the last three weeks if her husband’s life.’ - [Nigel Sinnott](https://helenechung.com/review/nigel-sinnott/) - ‘This book is funny, serious and perceptive … a labour of record and of love, and is well worth reading.’ - [Dr Stephen FitzGerald, AO](https://helenechung.com/review/dr-stephen-fitzgerald-ao-lmic/) - This is a China book you read through in one go, drawn by the writer/editor's need to catch and hold images of a Beijing of 20 years ago and of the love of her life who went there with her, reluctantly (and who a decade later she lost to cancer). From his letters to family - [Meryl Naidoo](https://helenechung.com/review/meryl-naidoo/) - The convent-educated author thanked her mother, Dorothy Henry Greener, and her father, Charles, 'not for my birth but for their divorce, which catapulted me at 16 months into the challenging childhood which, for better or worse, made me what I am'. - [Mike Bingham](https://helenechung.com/review/mike-bingham/) - This is an autobiography like no other. Here is a Tasmania few remember; here is the individual; here is the pain, strength and humour of families; here is love and isolation; here is the world we have all inherited. And in Helene Chung’s case, influenced. - [Steven Carroll](https://helenechung.com/review/steven-carroll/) - Here is the story of how this Australian-born Chinese Catholic school girl became, in many ways, emblematic of the changing nature of Australia. She may have been teased at school in Tasmania ... with the old 'Ching Chong' rhyme ... but the spirit, energy and clear-sighted intelligence that eventually took her to journalism - via - [Susan Ballyn](https://helenechung.com/review/susan-ballyn/) - John Martin’s … letters are appropriately punctuated by Helene’s own comments, on occasions correcting some political or historical detail her partner had got askew. Her comments are also enlightening in offering views of her own journalistic commitments … the huge toll taken on her by an almost inhuman work load as she traipsed all over - [Professor Geremie R. Barmé](https://helenechung.com/review/professor-geremie-r-barme/) - A duet in letters and commentary spanning over two decades. Lazy Man in China tells of a conjugal life involving work, travel and discovery in China; it is the story of a life set against the backdrop of a country experiencing radical economic transformation and social upheaval. This is also a book that gives voice to a - [Kate Stowell](https://helenechung.com/review/kate-stowell/) - While an engaging historical read, Lazy Man in China is also a bittersweet love story … a good read for those wanting an insight into the massive changes happening in one of the world’s most powerful countries. - [Ralph Elliott](https://helenechung.com/review/ralph-elliott/) - Others have written about China today, but Lazy Man in China records the experiences and impressions of two discerning and talented observers during the past 20 years in a manner that is both memorable and thoroughly diverting, not least with the help of its many apt illustrations. This is … a fascinating, beautifully produced book. - [David Robert](https://helenechung.com/review/david-robert/) - It is a must read for anyone wanting to understand how the people of Chinese heritage have established themselves around the world ... The story is not told as a family saga, but as a series of easy-to-read vignettes - fascinating for the insight they give into the Chinese backbone of multi-cultural Australia. - [Joan Grant](https://helenechung.com/review/joan-grant/) - Ching Chong China Girl is a lively read, and a significant reminder of one of the oldest strands of the Australian migrant story ... the author's intelligence and determination create an idiosyncratic portrait of what first- and second-generation migrants endure, and how they triumph. - [Dr Stephen FitzGerald, AO](https://helenechung.com/review/dr-stephen-fitzgerald-ao/) - This is two books in one. It is a picaresque tale of a good St Mary's girl who gave up wearing gloves and found it didn't hurt and life beyond fantastic; roaming the world as journalist and foreign correspondent, and with happy optimism and Chinese luck always finding someone to give her an assignment, including in the - [Bruce Elder](https://helenechung.com/review/bruce-elder/) - This is one person's wry and perceptive account of China at the end of its era of Mao-style Communism ... a fascinating insight into Chinese life and culture at a time when the country was going through major social and political changes. ## Testimonials - [Brenda Yan](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/brenda-yan/) - “When she spoke, the entire room fell silent. Everyone’s attention instantly centred on her. Her presence and speech is calm yet incredibly powerful - the kind of quiet strength that fills a room without raising a voice." - [John Crone](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/john-crone/) - "A thoroughly professional presentation … I wish the lessons I sat through at school on modern Chinese history had been half as interesting and engaging." - [Professor John Fitzgerald](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/professor-john-fitzgerald/) - "Helene speaks as she writes – with crystal clarity, sensitivity to her audience, a firm grasp of her subject, and always a touch of humour." - [Margaret Parker FCA](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/margaret-parker/) - "Your presentation was so interesting, very topical, very entertaining and well presented. You were very relaxed and responded well to our audience and their questions. We had fabulous feedback from our clients who thoroughly enjoyed your presentation." - [Joan Gill](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/joan-gill/) - "A provocative, stirring and pertinent story. Interesting and engaging, especially for students who may not be so aware of the level of prejudice that migrants encounter." - [Professor Emeritus Michael Roe](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/professor-emeritus-michael-roe/) - "A cracker-jack presentation - a perfect blend of history and autobiography." - [Hazel Edwards](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/hazel-edwards/) - "A thoughtful, candid and inspiring talk. A magnificent and articulate woman willing to share the personal." - [John W Downer](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/john-w-downer/) - "With China emerging as a world power, Ms Chung's detailed knowledge of the country, its politics and its people comes across in her articulate and amusing presentation, during which she engages with her audience in a relaxed and informal way. I have not heard better in the 25 years that I was based in Asia." - [Bob Carr](https://helenechung.com/testimonial/bob-carr/) - “Helene Chung is a confident, precise and captivating public communicator. All the years in radio and television have invested her with real charm and persuasiveness... She confirmed this during a panel discussion I chaired on the experience of ABC correspondents in Beijing.” ## Categories - [Uncategorized](https://helenechung.com/category/uncategorized/) ## Books - [Shouting From China](https://helenechung.com/book/shouting-from-china/) - [Gentle John My Love My Loss](https://helenechung.com/book/gentle-john-my-love-my-loss/) - [Lazy Man in China](https://helenechung.com/book/lazy-man-in-china/) - [Ching Chong China Girl](https://helenechung.com/book/ching-chong-china-girl/)