When we last looked in on the debacle of the 2023 Hugo Awards, distributed that year in Chengdu, China, we had only the strongest possible circumstantial evidence that the Hugo committee had excluded various well-voted-for nominees and nominations for fear of annoying the Chinese government. (See “And the winner for best science fiction novel by a writer China does not oppose is…,” StopTheChinazis.org, January 27, 2024).
The circumstantial evidence included detailed nomination data that the Hugo organization is obliged to release every year after the Awards have been awarded and usually releases quite promptly; this time, noted Daniel Roman, it did so only “on the last possible day that the World Science Fiction Society rules allowed, 90 days after the convention.”
These records show that various works of science fiction or fantasy had been unfathomably declared ineligible despite receiving enough votes to be finalists. Well, not quite unfathomably. The researchers who hopped into action quickly discovered that most of the excluded authors had written or said or done something, in the nominated work or otherwise, that might conceivably provoke the displeasure of China’s ruling gang, the Chinese Communist Party.
The one Hugo committee member, Dave McCarty, who chose at the time to respond publicly to the accusations of foul play did so in a snotnosed and evasive manner, not convincing anybody.
Now email correspondence sent between the Hugo administrators as they were deliberating about the Awards has been released by Diane Lacey, who was on the 2023 Hugo Awards team. Samples:
[Dave McCarty:] In addition to the regular technical review, as we are happening in China and the *laws* we operate under are different…we need to highlight anything of a sensitive political nature in the work…. [I]f the work focuses on China, Taiwan, Tibet, or other topics that be an issue *in* China…that needs to be highlighted so that we can determine if it is safe to put it on the ballot or if the law will require us to make an administrative decision about it.
[Kat Jones:] Babel has a lot about China. I haven’t read it, and am not up on Chinese politics, so cannot say whether it would be viewed as “negatives of China” – plot description is here: Babel, or the Necessity of Violence -Wikipedia
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – there’s talk about importing hacienda workers from China. I have not read the book, and do not know whether this would be considered “negative.” Source: page 7 and 8 here: THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU Book Club Kit by PRH Library – Issuu
Hopefully for the novels it will be an easy check while you’re in China – perhaps Chinese fans can see whether these novels are offered for sale in China? That might mean they’re safe?
Background on the release of the emails is provided at file770.com. Diane Lacey has admitted in a public letter that “the fans that have supported the Hugos, the nominees, and those that were unfairly and erroneously deemed ineligible in particular, deserve an explanation.”
Should I have resigned? Probably, but hindsight, as they say, is 20:20. It was apparent that there were issues beyond the slate. We were told to vet nominees for work focusing on China, Taiwan, Tibet, or other topics that may be an issue in China and, to my shame, I did so. Understand that I signed up fully aware that there were going to be issues. I am not that naïve regarding the Chinese political system, but I wanted the Hugos to happen, and not have them completely crash and burn.
Morals of the story? Don’t conduct literary events the very point of which would be destroyed by censorship in a country that thus censors or scares people into self-censorship. Don’t submit to organizational pressure to self-censor to appease a totalitarian state: resign first and say publicly why. Don’t undermine your own organization and hide what you are doing. Better to have let the 2023 Hugo Awards event crash and burn and hold two ceremonies in 2024.
Also, don’t allow ballot-stuffing. And/or disqualify certain countries in advance as a possible venue for the Worldcon. Countries like China. Vulture reports:
Last year’s controversial event landed in Chengdu, China, on October 21, 2023, after fans voted for the host city two years prior. “There were concerns that a couple thousand people from China purchased memberships [in the World Science Fiction Society] that year to vote for Chengdu,” Sanford told Esquire in February. “It was unusual, but it was done under the rules.”
Yeah. Change the rules.
Despite all the lapses, action was possible even at the eleventh hour, even after everybody had flown to Chengdu. The Worldcon and Hugo Award organizers could have gotten together and said, “We can’t do this; let’s right the egregious wrong we’re in the process of perpetrating,” made a public announcement, and rescheduled the 2023 Worldcon to hold it in another place and time.
That would have been chaotic. But it would have been much better than proceeding with the travesty.
