China

The China Olympics as a preview of the Chengdu Worldcon

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged China science fiction on by

As I’m writing this, the disaster of the Winter Olympics in China is unfolding. Nancy Pelosi has warned American athletes, “Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless.” In effect, she told them to shut up for their own safety. (I wish she’d thought to say that before they got on their flights.) The Chinese government has warned of “grave consequences” for criticizing its human rights abuses. Yang Shu, the deputy director of the event’s International Relations Department, has warned that “any behavior or speeches that are against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment.”

Athletes in COVID quarantine have reported miserable conditions. Valeria Vasnetsova posted on Instagram, “I want all this to end. I cry every day.” NPR reports, “Her account has since gone private.” Athletes are, on the FBI’s advice, using burner phones to avoid having their every conversation identified by the thought police.

What does this suggest about the World Science Fiction Convention scheduled for 2023 in Chengdu? There are differences, but they could make it even worse for the Worldcon.
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Chinese writers get it from both sides

This entry was posted in Censorship Commentary and tagged censorship China on by

Chinese writers have to reckon not only with their own government but with the US government. This post deals with events from 2020, but they relate to the issues of the upcoming Chengdu Worldcon and its guest of honor.

In 2020, Netflix announced plans for a series based on Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem and its sequels. As far as I can tell (my Netflix subscription is currently inactive), it’s still in the works. Earlier, five U.S. senators pressured Netflix to drop it. Their reason was some remarks which the author had made in a New Yorker interview. When asked about the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghurs, he said, “If anything, the government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty. If you were to loosen up the country a bit, the consequences would be terrifying.”Cover, The Three-Body Problem

The notion of “lifting people out of poverty” by putting them into brutal concentration camps is, of course, outrageous. We have to consider Cixin’s position, though. If he had spoken against the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghurs, his writing career would have promptly ended, and he might have suffered worse consequences. The Chinese government’s recent threats against anyone who criticizes it at the Olympics have reminded us of that. Also, he’s doubtless been fed steady misinformation by the censored Chinese media.
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The silence on the Chengdu Worldcon 2

This entry was posted in Censorship Commentary and tagged China conventions science fiction on by

The lack of pushback against the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu is disturbing. Boycotting the 2022 China Olympics is one of the few things Democrats and Republicans agree on. It should be obvious that a science fiction con, which is supposed to be about open discussion and speculation, can’t function under a government that monitors and censors ideas as pervasively as China does. Fans should find it repugnant to give any support to a government that persecutes minorities and violates human rights on a massive scale. Yet we’ve seen hardly any protests.

I’ve been looking for videos addressing these points to add to my YouTube playlist for boycotting Chengdu. So far I haven’t found any from fannish sources. If you know of any that are good enough to add to the list, please let me know in a comment.
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