A group of Polish fans has posted a petition against Sergei Lukianenko as 2023 Worldcon guest. As I’m writing this, it has 894 signatures, including mine.

File 770 has reported on it, and the comments are interesting. It’s not just Lukianenko people are objecting to.

• “But then the issue is foregrounded by the fact that this is Chengdu, and we’re looking at a convention in a country which has its own genocide.”
• “When this won, I thought, ah, a great excuse for a tour of China. Nope, nope, nope.”
• “I suppose there’s a degree of ‘rightness’ or appropriateness going on here: a genocidal GoH at a genocidal con held in a genocidal country.”

It isn’t prudent to assume a trend from comments on one site, but this is encouraging. It’s been a long time since anyone suggested I’m a “racist” for criticizing the Chinese government.

Some people are talking about nominating works for the Hugos that would stick it to the authorities. And I just realized: Star Wars: Andor is eligible (or rather, its individual episodes are) for “best dramatic work: short form”!!! This is the first moment I’ve felt regret that I’m not a member of the con (though it’s not a reason to register). Fans are saying it’s the best Star Wars production in years, and I agree with them. If you somehow haven’t heard about it, it’s set in the formative phase of the Rebel Alliance and is all about fighting a brutal, authoritarian police state.

A majority of the con’s members are in China, and I expect that the kind of people who like the show haven’t cared to give Chengdu their money, so the prospect may be hopeless. If it even gets a good run in the voting, that will make a nice statement.