fandom

Robert J. Sawyer grovels to China

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

Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer has been the least controversial of the Chengdu Worldcon’s three Guests of Honor. He’s Canadian and isn’t under the same pressures or motivations as Chinese author Cixin Liu and Russian Sergei Lukianenko. However, he’s shown that just a guest spot and airfare are enough to buy off any principles he might have had.

I’m not expecting him to denounce the treatment of the Uyghurs or censorship in Hong Kong while he’s there. That would be stupid. But he didn’t have to say the things he said.
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The slow Worldcon train wreck

This entry was posted in News and tagged China fandom on by

We’re down to the month of the Chengdu Worldcon, and things aren’t shaping up well. At this point, it’s pointless for me to urge people not to go. Either you’ve made firm plans or you aren’t going. All I can do is advise you to be careful if you are going.

The much-hyped, still under construction convention center isn’t big enough to accommodate the biggest events. At least for Chinese attendees, admission to the opening, closing, and Hugo ceremonies will be by lottery. Hugo nominees and GoHs will be allowed in, as will people from far away if they’ve jumped through the right hoops.
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Tomorrow’s Songs Today, second edition

This entry was posted in My writing and tagged fandom history Tomorrow's Songs Today on by

Cover, Tomorrow's Songs TodayThe second edition of Tomorrow’s Songs Today, my history of filk music, is now available as a free download. A new chapter covers events since 2015, and the appendices have been updated to list conventions and awards up to the present. The existing chapters have been lightly revised. Many links that broke over the past eight years are fixed.

Will the real Chengdu con chair please stand up?

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

A recent announcement from the Chengdu Worldcon adds to the abnormal level of hype over the slogan and the mascot’s name for the con. But I’ve already written about that. Something else is very weird.

Yao Haijun, the full-time chairman of the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon and president of the Chengdu Science Fiction Association…

Liang Xiaolan, the full-time chairman of the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon and the vice president of the Chengdu Science Fiction Association…

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#WritersSupportUyghurs campaign to answer Chengdu Worldcon

This entry was posted in News and tagged China fandom liberty science fiction on by

The World Uyghur Congress has announced an online panel discussion on October 17, 2023. This date was chosen as the day before the 2023 Worldcon opens in Chengdu.

The press release quotes science fiction writer Andrew Gillsmith as saying:

The Chinese government wants to use Worldcon as a sort of Potemkin Village in order to showcase how futuristic and technologically advanced the country has become. Meanwhile, they are interning people in concentration camps, forcibly separating children from their families, conscripting Uyghurs into slave labour schemes, and implementing the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated surveillance regime in history. Science fiction writers and fans have a longstanding tradition of standing for human rights. This is in the spirit of that tradition.

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S. B. Divya declines Hugo nomination

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In early July, author S. B. Divya explained on her website why she declined a nomination for a Hugo Award and asked to be removed from the list of people nominated for another. I don’t know anything else about her beyond what I’ve read on her website, but what she’s said is exactly right.

Along with many other writers, I signed a petition last year against hosting the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention (AKA “WorldCon”) in Chengdu, China. The reason was to protest the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province. I believe that mass human rights violations and possible genocide have occurred in the region.

Read the whole statement here.

US State Department travel advisory for China

This entry was posted in News and tagged China fandom on by

The US State Department currently has China at a Level 3 (reconsider travel) advisory level.

Summary: Reconsider travel to Mainland China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.

While there would be a certain “I told you so” satisfaction if anyone going to the Chengdu Worldcon lands in trouble, I’d rather forego the pleasure. If you have to go because of fannish obligations, keep your head down and concentrate on making it through.

In other news, the Chengdu Worldcon released a Hugo ballot to the Internet then pulled it.

Chengdu Worldcon GoH gets Putin appointment

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

Congratulations to Sergei Lukianenko on being (probably) the first person ever to be both a guest of honor at a Worldcon and an appointee of Vladimir Putin. Putin appointed the loyal advocate of the war of aggression against Ukraine to Russia’s Civic Chamber. He’s also a guest of honor at the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon.

In an interview for the occasion he recommended “the establishment of some kind of federal structure that would publish books that are niche, but useful, educating the reader in the right values and the ability to think.” In other words, a government bureau to publish propaganda books. I’m sure he’d be glad to write some of them.

A note on the Glasgow Worldcon

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged fandom Internet United Kingdom on by

Since I’ve commented on the 2023 China Worldcon and the bid for one in Egypt, I should mention that the odds of my attending the 2024 Glasgow Worldcon, which were already low, have dropped to near zero.

The government of the UK has stomped on the right of mere commoners to criticize “His Majesty,” just when the world’s eyes were on it. I’m not calling for a boycott, but I don’t feel like setting foot in the UK if I don’t have to.

Security Minister Tugendhat declared, “The coronation is a chance for the United Kingdom to showcase our liberty and democracy, that’s what this security arrangement is doing.” The showcase has included suspicionless detention, bans directed at specific people, and restrictions on Internet speech. Volunteers in a women’s safety program were arrested for handing out rape alarms, because they could in principle be used to disrupt events. The charge: “Conspiracy to commit public nuisance.”
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Speech codes and fandom

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged censorship fandom on by

The Mastodon site fandom.ink came to my attention because it hosts the account for Pemmi-Con, the 2023 North American Science Fiction Convention. I looked at it a bit to see what other interesting accounts it might have and examined its terms of service. Most of the points are the usual attempts to maintain civil discussion, but one item is disturbing, and it’s part of a trend toward speech policing which I’ve mentioned in other connections.

Item #2 under “Inappropriate Behaviour” is: “expressing or defending derogatory, harmful, and/or contemptuous views of marginalized persons or groups, including in the context of playing ‘devil’s advocate’ (‘it’s not really racist because…’).” (Boldface added, italics as in the original.) This constitutes a prohibition on defending people against some types of accusations. Letting accused people have their say and letting others speak in their defense is a bedrock principle of a liberal society, but it’s one which some people on the political left dislike. In an especially notorious example, Harvard booted professor Ron Sullivan from a position as faculty dean of an undergraduate house because he’d provided legal defense services for Harvey Weinstein. Users on fandom.ink can make groundless accusations without worrying that someone will challenge them. If they get accused in return, then I suppose both are presumed guilty.
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