The World Science Fiction Convention scheduled for 2023 in Chengdu hasn’t made a lot of news lately. This is normal for a con in its early stages of preparation. I’d really hoped that the calls for boycotting it would grow, though, especially since they would have a bearing on the NASFiC to be held the same year. Winnipeg and Orlando have filed bids. Florida also falls below some people’s threshold of acceptability because of things its government has done, but that’s a discussion for another time. If Florida is unacceptable, China certainly has to be.

The Chinese government can bring trouble for anyone who criticizes it, even outside China. I’m obscure and hard to put pressure on, so I haven’t run into any problems, though that could change. My obscurity means I don’t have a lot of influence on many fans, though I turn up high in the search results if you look for something like “boycott Chengdu Worldcon.”
(more…)