Photograph: taken from picture library
When Jonathan Mirsky visited China in 1972 with a small group of US scholars, they were taken to see new housing for workers. The following day, on his own, he saw the tenant who had shown them his home go into a very modest, run-down place. Jonathan said he thought he lived in the new housing, but the man replied that it was just to show visitors.
Jonathan was incensed at the deception. He continued to challenge what the group had been told: as a result he was not allowed to tour with them, but had to remain behind until they returned.
