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This is not intended to be flame bait, but what else would you expect? He is a Chinese national writing within China. This is not an ex-pat safely secluded in a

This is not intended to be flame bait, but what else would you expect? He is a Chinese national writing within China. This is not an ex-pat safely secluded in a western country writing sci-fi and attempting to get it allowed back in China. Even if he is aware of the full scope of the CCP’s actions against the Uighur peoples I don’t see how you expect a published work in China to contain anything but the Party line. He is just a guy writing fiction in a country which does not tolerate political dissension from established narratives. As soon as he had any success the ability for him to deviate from Party approved thought became smaller and smaller. But, I do like siblings suggestion to buy and read the books used if you want to avoid financially supporting the publishing/advertising machine (both East and West) that is profiting off material that ignores and covers for tragedy. Edit: I should have specified that I am talking like it’s just his written output, but I think my comment applies to his presence or appearances in media in any form (interview, reviews, promotion, etc) not just the actual stuff in his books.

ss108 4y ago
Why should I believe that such statements don't represent his actual views? Why would I want to consume anything he writes then? It's amazing the mental gymnastics people can go through to tolerate evil. Most people nowadays to think that if they were in a really fucked up situation like Nazi Germany or something they'd be one of the good guys, like they'd be helping Jews escape the country. But I don't think that's the case...
- jltsiren 4y ago
  Why would you not want to read fiction written by someone with political opinions far from your own? Isn't the entire point of speculative fiction about getting exposed to ideas you would not have yourself?
  - ss108 4y ago
    Right, the question of whether genocide, concentration camps, and rape are ok is just a matter of "political opinion"
- throwaway17_17 4y ago
  I don’t understand where this line of thought can act as a standard. If you are advocating that reading a book by a Chinese author, even one who supports his governments policy, is the tolerance of evil, if not actual evil based on the reference to the Holocaust, then where do you draw the line? I can almost be assured that whatever operating system you are using is funded, in some part, by actors who are perpetuating ‘evil’. Those companies doing business with China, the US military-industrial complex, or even just providing services to violent terrorist group are, by your standard, tolerant or in some cases actually supporting ‘evil’. Do you give up anything that is produced by those companies, including your OS?
  - ss108 4y ago
    There are a good number of plausible standards whereby calling out an individual for publicly defending a genocide is ok, even though, e.g., I feel like I have to buy things that are made in China despite my efforts to avoid doing so, and despite the fact that my efforts could be stronger. To be clear, I don't think what you're saying is without merit, but I think you're drawing an inapposite comparison between more complex cases and a very clear one.

ss108 4y ago

Why should I believe that such statements don't represent his actual views? Why would I want to consume anything he writes then? It's amazing the mental gymnastics people can go through to tolerate evil. Most people nowadays to think that if they were in a really fucked up situation like Nazi Germany or something they'd be one of the good guys, like they'd be helping Jews escape the country. But I don't think that's the case...

jltsiren 4y ago
Why would you not want to read fiction written by someone with political opinions far from your own? Isn't the entire point of speculative fiction about getting exposed to ideas you would not have yourself?
- ss108 4y ago
  Right, the question of whether genocide, concentration camps, and rape are ok is just a matter of "political opinion"
throwaway17_17 4y ago
I don’t understand where this line of thought can act as a standard. If you are advocating that reading a book by a Chinese author, even one who supports his governments policy, is the tolerance of evil, if not actual evil based on the reference to the Holocaust, then where do you draw the line? I can almost be assured that whatever operating system you are using is funded, in some part, by actors who are perpetuating ‘evil’. Those companies doing business with China, the US military-industrial complex, or even just providing services to violent terrorist group are, by your standard, tolerant or in some cases actually supporting ‘evil’. Do you give up anything that is produced by those companies, including your OS?
- ss108 4y ago
  There are a good number of plausible standards whereby calling out an individual for publicly defending a genocide is ok, even though, e.g., I feel like I have to buy things that are made in China despite my efforts to avoid doing so, and despite the fact that my efforts could be stronger. To be clear, I don't think what you're saying is without merit, but I think you're drawing an inapposite comparison between more complex cases and a very clear one.