[UglycupRawky]

It's a truly fascinating piece, but wow, I didn't expect going in that I'd come out not liking him. On the other hand, I didn't really know anything about Liu Cixin or his work before now, so maybe this is all well-trodden ground for everyone else.

[ephemeralism]

I think you have to look very hard to find anything positive written about China or Chinese people in western establishment media.

Especially anything that gets posted on HN.

[EastToWest]

The reverse, to a lesser extent (only about Western politics), is also true in Chinese media.

[cycrutchfield]

Turns out totalitarian states are not very popular amongst a wider global audience. Not much positive gets written about Venezuela or North Korea either.

[gdy]

The journalist worked hard to achieve that effect.

[cycrutchfield]

You sure it wasn't Liu Cixin's own statements that were working to achieve that effect? The journalist just asked questions and wrote down his response.

[gdy]

"Just"? We must have been reading different articles.

[cycrutchfield]

If the author simply transcribed every conversation and printed it, we would still come out with the same impression that this is a guy with some pretty shitty beliefs. Everything else in the article is just window dressing around those facts.

[gdy]

How do you know that? At best, you can talk about yourself.

[cycrutchfield]

I'm starting to suspect that you share the same shitty beliefs yourself.

[basementcat]

Perhaps he chose to be cautious with his remarks in case any authorities happen to read the New Yorker.

[ngcc_hk]

Sigh. And many chinese still support that authority.

[basementcat]

In much the same way that many people support the political faction/party of their choice.

[wangii]

you really don't have to like the author in order to have fun or appreciate his works.

[haasted]

Orson Scott Card being the prime example of this.

[krapp]

Or H.P. Lovecraft.