MCLC: London Book Fair criticized (3)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: lucas klein (LRKlein at cityu.edu.hk)
Subject: London Book Fair criticized (3)
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Hi, MCLC--

To me, Huang Beiling's point about China and the London Book Fair may be
valid in general, but it fails in the particular.

While in most cases we recognize a difference between a culture and a
nation, the PRC government has spent a lot of energy over the last number
of
decades insisting that it is the final arbiter over anything involving the
culture of China (I see this as behind the insistence on the "one China"
policy, as well). Huang Beiling's point is a reminder that Chinese culture
is bigger than what the PRC government defines it to be.

In detail, however, the Chinese writers going to the LBF are not in all
cases writers who toe the party line. Xi Chuan, for instance, is not a
member of the Zuoxie.

Lucas