Dressed in a dark suit and blouse dotted with white patterns, Chinese-American writer Leslie T. Chang, author of the award-winning non-fiction Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China (2008), strode into the fully-packed 200-seat classroom in a teaching building at Peking University on Monday evening.

Nodding and exchanging a smile with the moderator, she got straight to the point, reading a section from the Chinese version of her book. "We do not have a dageda (early, bulky cellphone) now, but we could tell we wouldn't own one in the future," Chang, in Beijing to launch the Chinese-language edition of her book, read from the diary of one of the lead characters in her story.

Factory Girls, focusing on the lives of two young migrant workers in South China, includes the story of the Chang family's migration from China to the US. The novel became a sensation after publication, named one of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2008. It also received the 2009 PEN USA Literary Award for Research Non-fiction and the Asian-American Literary Award for non-fiction.

Returning to her roots

After graduating from Harvard University in 1991 with a degree in American history and literature, Chang worked as a reporter in the Czech Republic from 1992 to 1993. Her interest in China grew as the country underwent great changes in the early 1990s as part of its reform and opening-up.

After working as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Taiwan and Hong Kong for several years, Chang relocated to Beijing in 1998 and spent the following decade as the newspaper's Chinese mainland correspondent. 

Specializing in reporting China's socioeconomic changes and transformations among individuals, she made her first visit in 2003 to the manufacturing powerhouse of Dongguan, Guangdong Province. It sparked her interest in and concern for the growing population of migrant workers, especially young women.

Many reports by foreign media focused on the miserable work conditions inside Chinese factories. After a few visits to Dongguan, Chang decided to explore the subject from the workers' perspectives. She followed two of her novel's protagonists, Wang Chunming and Lu Qingmin, for three years, describing the opportunities, freedoms and liberation they enjoyed.

Despite missing their family while working in Dongguan, the duo has a fish-out-of-water experience upon returning to their rural homes for a holiday. In the book, Chang tells how many "factory girls" strive for better job opportunities by engaging in evening English-language and computer courses, and fall in and out of love despite warnings from their families.

"I read a lot of American reportage saying how pitiful [factory employees] are and how they have to work 'x-many' hours to afford the products they make, such as an iPhone. But this is not always the case," Chang notes.

One "factory girl" the author met owned several high-end purses and handbags courtesy of an assembly line surplus.

However, Chang's crusade to cast migrant workers in a more positive light inevitably drew criticism from the media, with some pundits accusing her of defending giant multinational companies.

Chang rejects such claims, pointing out she still keeps in touch with Wang and Lu even though she now lives in Cairo, Egypt.

In any case, she's adamant that it's wrong for people to adopt a condescending view of migrant workers, no matter how earnest their intentions.

"You can show sympathy towards [migrant workers], but don't pity them. We need to respect them as they also have their own esteem and confidence," she says. "I have known some of them for almost 10 years. Few of them ever ask me for help. Instead, they often asked me if I need help from them. "

Compromising to censors

Besides tracing the lives of migrant workers, Chang also documented the history of her ancestors in Northeast China. She learned her grandfather, who studied in the US and later returned to China to work for the Kuomintang government, was assassinated shortly after World War II.

In 1945, her family fled to Taiwan before her parents settled in the US. Some of her family members who remained on the mainland were tortured during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and Chang recorded their memoirs in her book.

However, the three chapters documenting this turmoil were cut from the Chinese-language edition of her book by publishing authorities.

"I was very disappointed because everyone's story is worth telling. The removal of the chapters denies the significance of the book," says Chang.

After a discussion with her publisher, she reluctantly decided to accept the censorship to have her book published. 

Migrant workers' stories justified the compromises, Chang says, adding she would post the "harmonized" chapters to her official website later this week for Chinese readers.

Writer couple in Cairo

Despite working as a journalist for over a decade, Chang initially found the transition from reporter to author more difficult than she imagined.

"To develop your own style, you need to challenge yourself and break the traditional mode of journalistic writing," she notes.

Though tracing the life of factory workers proved exhausting over three years, she found the writing process a release from the pressures of the newsroom.

"When you work in the media, you have to report on things you don't know well, but I was relaxed when writing my book," she explains. 

Chang's husband, Peter Hessler, another American journalist-cum-author whose award-winning books include River Town (2001), Oracle Bones (2006) and Country Driving (2010), left China in 2007.

"We wanted to go to a place that makes headlines and has dramatic changes," Chang said of the couple's decision to move to Cairo with their 3-year-old twin daughters.

"Egypt turned out to be the right place. Though the country is economically backward and politically unstable, Egyptians are approachable and relaxing to be around," she said.

Aside from learning Arabic, Chang is pondering the subject of her next book. Meanwhile, Hessler continues to write for magazines, such as National Geographic and The New Yorker. 

Despite her husband's growing fame and popularity among Chinese readers, Chang said she does not feel pressure to match his three books. Instead, she is grateful they share a bond with China.

"As far as I know, there are not so many writer couples who have successful writing careers and a happy marriage," jokes Chang.