I've been at conferences that were originally scheduled to happen in the US and were switched to Canada because of simple visa requirements that changed. It was

I've been at conferences that were originally scheduled to happen in the US and were switched to Canada because of simple visa requirements that changed. It wasn't even impossible to get visas, it was just a bit more inconvenient than previously. The organizers must be tone deaf if they thought China would be a good place to give awards to participants that did anything remotely bad from China's perspective. Tragedy of the commons (the voting) that they should have blocked. Funny side note: many travel agencies in Brazil are advertising "Get your Chinese visa now! No need to for interview! Instant approval"