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When talking about Chinese publishing there is one question that needs immediate attention: The Question of Censorship. Asked directly about censorship, our entourage has heard a variety of responses, ranging from a very official “there is no censorship in China,” delivered by the deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP, the Chinese government body that oversees book publishing) to more nuanced acknowledgement that censorship is part of the daily reality of publishing.
If there’s a general consensus on the topic, which has been addressed time and time again (the German foreign press corps here in Beijing is obsessed with it), it’s that the government is primarily concerned with steering the masses than policing the fringes. How this translates to the publishing industry is that objectionable books might make it into bookstores, but if they become popular, that turns them into targets for the censors. “What happens most often,” explained one independent publisher, “is that a reader will object to something in a book and then report it to the government. That’s when someone might look at it and censor it.”
If the Chinese delegation that’s going to attend Frankfurt is smart, they will host at least one panel that addresses the topic head on. “Is there Censorship in China?” sounds perfect. If they don’t, they risk making it the only topic that gets written about their stint as Guest of Honor at the Fair.
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29. June 2009
08:50 Uhr
There is nothing the Chinese authorities, including those who supervise publication, like better than journalists from the West who have not done their homework, and plan to spend just a week or two in the Middle Kingdom.
Censorship is rampant in China’s book publication industry. This is regularly discussed and detailed in English at sites such http://paper-republic.org/ and http://www.bruce-humes.com
Confronting your Chinese hosts with “tough” questions like “Is there censorship?” will hardly get you good answers. There are many pressure-points: Book editors and publishers who want to avoid fines or worse for publishing politically incorrect books; authors who may lose their jobs in academia; and of course, ensuring that an author cannot collect his or her royalties for a banned book. This is all very familiar, really. The Soviet Union had the same levers in place, and used them as required.
I assume you are writing for publishers outside the PRC who know China is hot, but aren’t quite sure how to identify writers and works that would be of interest to international readers.
One way to give them the info they want is to find out: Which popular books are unlikely to show up in the Frankfurt Book Fair, at least in translated form? Which authors have been “banned” from going there, i.e., they either cannot get an exit visa, or have been told informally they should not go?
I have heard in the grapevine — and cannot confirm — that Yan Lianke, author of the satirical novel “Serve the People,” is on the list of those the authorities have blacklisted. Ask him!
As you visit publishers, agents, authors and translators, ask: Which controversial authors are NOT on Beijing’s list of authors invited to go to the Frankfurt Book Fair? What books have been banned in mainland China over the last two years, but published in HK and Taiwan to critical acclaim?
I suspect you will get some interesting answers, and in the process help your overseas publishers get a grip on what is coming out of China that is likely to be of interest to readers abroad. This is certainly not the only way to identify writing talent, but in today’s China, it is useful.
Bruce Humes
Chinese Books, English Reviews
http://www.bruce-humes.com