An Evening with Liao Yiwu

The United University Church at the University of Southern California presents a talk by writer Liao Yiwu.

Mr. Liao Yiwu is a best selling author in Germany, but his books are banned in China. Early this
year, he was invited by Salman Rushdie to attend the PEN World Voices Festival in New York but was repeatedly denied exit by China's authorities.  When authorities told him that he will be imprisoned if he does not cancel the planned overseas publication of his new book, "God is Red ", Mr. Liao had to find a way to escape. He escaped from China through Vietnam and Poland and arrived in Berlin this summer.

Mr. Liao had been previously imprisoned for four years for his 1989 epic poem "Massacre" about the Tiananmen Massacre.  He suffered torture and solitary confinement.

Many of his books have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Polish, Korean, Japanese and English.

Program

Mr. Liao will be speaking through an interpreter about his two books that have been translated into
English.

In "Corpse Walker; Real Life Stories: China From the Bottom Up", Mr. Liao documents the riveting, tme stories of ordinary citizens surviving against all odds.

In "God is Red: the Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China", Mr. Liao gives voi ce to the persecuted Christians in China. He records for posterity the unwavering commitment to freedom of expression of Christians in China.

The two books will be available for purchase.