Name Anthony Grey | Role Journalist | |
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Books Saigon: An Epic Novel of Vietnam, Tokyo Bay: A Novel of Japan, The Bangkok Secret, Saigon, The Bulgarian exclusive | ||
Anthony Grey Returns (1969)
Anthony Grey OBE (born 5 July 1938) is a British journalist and author. As a journalist for Reuters he was imprisoned by the Chinese government for 27 months in China from 1967 to 1969. He has written a series of historical novels and non-fiction books, including several relating to his detention.
Contents
- Anthony Grey Returns 1969
- SYND 10 1 69 BELGIAN JOURNALIST OFFERS TO CHANGE PLACES WITH BRITISH CORRESPONDENT HELD IN PEKING
- Detention in China 1967 1969
- Later career
- Personal life
- Publications
- Fiction
- Non Fiction
- References
SYND 10-1-69 BELGIAN JOURNALIST OFFERS TO CHANGE PLACES WITH BRITISH CORRESPONDENT HELD IN PEKING
Detention in China (1967 - 1969)
While working for Reuters in Peking covering China's Cultural Revolution, in July 1967 he was confined to the basement of his house by the Chinese government under the leadership of Mao Zedong, ostensibly for spying, but really in retaliation for the colonial British government jailing eight pro-Chinese media journalists who had violated emergency regulations during the Leftist riots in British Hong Kong. China demanded the release of the eight before Grey would be released. While the eight were eventually released, China then demanded the release of a further 13 Chinese jailed in British Hong Kong. The British Hong Kong government refused. Grey was able to communicate by mail with his mother and girlfriend back in England, but was only allowed two 20-minute visits by British consular officials in the first 17 months of his confinement, and was never formally charged.
He was released in October 1969, after 27 months of captivity. Upon his return to Britain he was awarded the "Journalist of the Year" prize for 1969 at the IPC National Press awards, and an OBE.
Grey wrote about his two-year ordeal in Hostage in Peking, published in 1970.
Later career
He published various stories and articles in such magazines as Playboy, Punch and The Illustrated London News. Between 1974 and 1979 he was a presenter on Twentyfour Hours, a daily international affairs programme on the BBC's World Service.
He produced television documentaries for the British TV stations BBC and ATV World. These include Return to Peking in which he described changes in China since his imprisonment, and Return to Saigon, in which he visited Vietnam for the first time, subsequent to his successful novel Saigon.
In the late 1980s, Grey's experience as a political hostage led him to found Hostage Action Worldwide, which worked for the release of other political hostages, in particular John McCarthy, Brian Keenan, Terry Waite and others held by Islamic groups in the Middle East.
From the 1990s, Grey took an interest in UFOs. He produced a three-part documentary in 1996-1997 for the BBC World Service entitled UFO's - Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?. His conclusion was that there is overwhelming evidence for visitations to earth by extra-terrestrials.
Personal life
In 1970, Grey married Shirley McGuinn (16 December 1932 - 24 November 1995), his girlfriend at the time of his imprisonment in China. They had two daughters, and divorced in 1992. From 1969 to 1973, the Greys lived in Jersey, and subsequently in London, West Sussex and Norwich.
Publications
Grey's publications include:
Fiction
Novels
Short story collections