These are, as they say, interesting times in China. The anti-scientific “zero Covid” policy and the resulting extreme lockdowns have made people unable to get basic necessities. In at least one case, they’ve killed people, as residents in a burning building were literally imprisoned in their apartments. This has led to mass protests at great personal risk, in a country with 1984-level mass surveillance.

The committee of the Chengdu Worldcon has said nothing. Not a word. If I’ve missed something, please correct me in the comments.

At Chicon, American co-chair Ben Yalow said in response to a question about quarantining, “Tell me what the pandemic is going to be a year from now and I will tell you what the quarantine situation will be.” His words imply that China’s policy is rational and scientific, to such an extent that he would be able to predict China’s policies if he only could predict the course of the disease. If he predicted the present situation, I haven’t heard.

I don’t like criticizing Ben. He’s done a huge amount of work for fandom over many years. He’s currently in a tough situation; if he speaks out, it could get his colleagues in China into trouble. But it’s a situation of his own making. He chose to be the western-facing voice of the convention, and perhaps the only right thing he can do now is walk away from it.

The position of the concom in China isn’t enviable either. Everyone who protests is taking a big risk; they could be arrested, imprisoned, or denied employment opportunities. I’d hardly expect them to say Xi should be removed from office, unless they’re really daring. But a simple statement such as “We support open and free discussion of the issues of the day” would be appropriate and — I think — relatively low-risk. It would tell registered and potential members that they’ll do what they can to support such discussion at the convention.

Their silence suggests that they’ll be just as acquiescent during the convention itself.