Jailed journalist contemplated suicide -AFP
Wed Feb 20, 10:34 PM ET
Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, who was freed from a Chinese prison this month, contemplated suicide during the darkest days of his detention, he told the Singapore newspaper he works for Thursday.
He survived through reading classic Chinese philosophical texts and self-help books that his family had brought him, the Straits Times reported.
Ching, 58, said his most difficult moments in jail came in the early months after his arrest in April 2005 when he had no contact with his family or his employers.
Ching was held on suspicion of spying for Taiwan and was sentenced to five years in jail last year during a one-day trial.
"My body clock was turned upside down and (the investigators) applied mental stress so you voluntarily succumbed to them," he said in his first interview since his unexpected release from prison on February 5.
"I began to lose confidence, lose hope, and had low self-esteem. When you are in such a situation, the downward spiral begins to kick in and the end result is to commit suicide," said Ching, the chief China correspondent for the Straits Times.
Asked if he came close to suicide, Ching replied: "Yes, when you have to dismiss everything you've long held precious to you."
He said he pulled through by reading Chinese philosophical texts which impressed on him that the things he did were "good for the people and good for the country."
Ching also said his family kept the death of his 82-year-old father in 2006 a secret from him.
On learning of his father's death after his release he said: "I just couldn't accept this story. I cried, I kneeled down and it was really a hard time for me."
Ching, who was due to speak at a press conference later Thursday in Hong Kong, said he planned to write a book on his 1,000-day prison ordeal.