A Great Leap Backwards?: The Closing of Cultural Spaces and the New Normal in Beijing

Barbarians at the Gate

This episode of the podcast addresses a worrisome question: Is China’s “cultural space” shrinking?

The recent crackdown on stand-up comedy content and the scrutiny of foreign musicians performing in bars have raised worries that other artistic domains will soon be targeted. Over the past decade, there has been a perception of a “death by a thousand cuts,” as increasing scrutiny and tightening regulations have slowly sanitized, squelched, or strangled many areas of artistic and cultural expression.

The once vibrant LGBTQ scene in Beijing, characterized by thriving queer film festivals and active “tongzhi” websites, is now virtually moribund. Venues such as the Bookworm, where freewheeling literary festivals and public talks were tacitly allowed, are now a thing of the past. And the numerous academic exchanges that collapsed during the COVID-19 years do not show signs of reviving soon.

In the podcast, we discuss questions such as: What are the implications of this trend for Chinese soft power? Can alternative “safe spaces” allow creative activity to continue? And what are the ramifications for the foreign exodus from China, as many ex-pats find the country less welcoming than in times past?