is writing won China’s first Nobel Prize for Literature, but is it patriotic enough for Xi Jinping’s China? That’s the question at the center of a high-profile lawsuit now driving a debate about nationalism in China.
The lawsuit filed last month demands that the author apologize to all Chinese people, the country’s martyrs and Mao, and pay damages of 1.5 billion yuan —1 yuan for each Chinese person. He also requested that Mo’s books be removed from circulation. In 2011, he became vice chairman of the state-backed Chinese Writers Association. After he received his Nobel, a top party official praised him as an “outstanding representative” of China’s rising economic might and international influence.
Sharp-tongued media commentator and former editor of Global Times Hu Xijin also criticized Wu, calling his attempt to sue Mo a “farce” and a “populist” act. On Weibo, Hu decried support for the action as “a very alarming trend in online public opinion.”Online, discussion was divided: Some called it a reflection of growing nationalism in China and others condemned the accusers. The controversy has trended on Weibo, where the hashtag #MoYanbeingsued had been viewed around 2 million times.