science fiction

Chengdu Worldcon GoH gets Putin appointment

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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.

The silence of the Chengdu Worldcon

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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.
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China’s intimidation of academic institutions

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For some time I’ve known it’s dangerous to criticize the Chinese government on some American campuses. Emerson College investigated a student group that dared to criticize the Chinese rulers and then suspended it, and as far as I can tell it has never backed away from its contemptible decree. Mark Wrighton, president of George Washington University, declared he was “personally offended” by posters criticizing China and would “undertake an effort to determine who is responsible.” He backed off when he found himself facing more publicity than he bargained for.

Fandom gets a large proportion of its new people from college students and recent graduates. If they learn there that they should shut up about China while on campus, they may carry that habit over into their fannish activities. This, I’m sure, is one reason for the lack of widespread calls to boycott the Chengdu Worldcon. But how widespread is this effect? Are Emerson and GWU outliers? Lately I’ve looked into the ways China intimidates Western educational institutions and found that varying levels of intimidation are common.
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Gay rights and the China Worldcon

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Till recently, I hadn’t paid much attention to the gay rights issue in China. It’s not as bad as in some countries, but it’s poor and may be getting worse with this year’s changes in the government. That’s a major issue for many fans, yet I haven’t seen any discussion of it in connection with the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu.

The good news is that homosexuality isn’t illegal in China. However, same-sex marriage isn’t recognized, and same-sex couples aren’t allowed to adopt. This shouldn’t directly affect visitors, but it’s one more reason to question the choice of China as a host country for the Worldcon.
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Beatings in Manchester, LARP control in Chengdu 1

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How did this become the leading blog on boycotting the Chengdu Worldcon? I don’t know, but here are two new items for the list of reasons to stay away.

In Manchester, UK, employees of the Chinese Consulate assaulted protesters on the street. They dragged a man into the consulate and beat him, as well as grabbing posters from the protesters. The UK government has done nothing. The Chinese version is that the consulate staff was defending itself against a barrage of hurt feelings, and that they were trying to hold the man back as he crawled into the consulate, dragging their hands with his hair.
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Chengdu Worldcon GoH applauds Russian attacks on civilians

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Sergei Lukianenko, one of the guests of honor at the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, has called the Ukrainians “fascists” and applauded Russia’s attacks on populated areas in Kyiv.

The 2022 WSFS meeting condemned Chengdu’s choice of Lukianenko as a GoH. As far as I know, Chengdu hasn’t responded, nor has Ben Yalow. If I’ve missed anything, please let me know.

The convention’s shills tell you, “So what if China has no free speech? Just go there, shut up, listen to the GoH speech, and come back.”

By now there should be a huge movement in fandom to boycott the Chengdu Worldcon. Why isn’t there?

Lukianenko and free speech issues 3

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If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you should know I support a climate of free speech in science fiction fandom, and I also support the requests that the China Worldcon drop Sergei Lukianenko from its list of Guests of Honor. No one I know of has accused me of inconsistency in these positions, but I’ve had to think carefully about whether there’s any clash. I’d like to explain, even though no one has asked.

I wouldn’t support banning Lukianenko as a program participant or kicking him off panels. Subjecting advocates of bad ideas to criticism helps to expose why they’re wrong. It also gives people an opportunity to answer their critics rather than being dismissed without a hearing. The WSFS resolution which urged a boycott of anyone who “platforms” the Ukraine invasion might be interpreted as a call to disinvite him from all opportunities to speak. I don’t support that.
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WSFS condemns Lukianenko; Chengdu doesn’t care

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The business meeting of WSFS, held at Chicon, passed a resolution saying “[Sergey] Lukianenko should neither be platformed nor celebrated, and we ask the Chengdu 2023 committee, fans and members to refuse Sergei Lukianenko as your guest. it is shameful that he is honored by Worldcon.”

Leaving aside the sloppy language about “platforming,” I agree with the resolution, but it’s unlikely to have any effect on the guest list next year. As I’ve said before, the committee has to watch its step to avoid the Chinese government’s displeasure.
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