Li Cheung was a human woman serving time in an underwater prison pod. She was serving time for crippling the guy who tried to mug her. She had served two years of her ten year sentence when the Third Doctor and Jo Grant arrived in the pod. Like the other inmates, she was initially suspicious of them. The Doctor convinced her that he intended to get them out of the pod, though he wouldn't free them.
Li took the lead in helping the Doctor, urging the other women to use the exercise bikes to provide the power the Doctor needed to free the pod from the ocean floor. When the pod floated to the surface, Li and the other prisoners saw the sun for the first time in years. (PROSE: Deep Stretch)