Nobel Literature laureate Mo Yan is accused in patriotism lawsuit of insulting China’s heroes

By SIMINA MISTREANU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — His 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 that has driven a debate about nationalism in China in recent weeks. Patriotic blogger Wu Wanzheng sued novelist Mo Yan last month under a 2018 law that carries civil and criminal penalties for insulting China’s heroes and martyrs. The lawsuit is unlikely to succeed, but observers have called it a reflection of a rise in aggressive online efforts to enforce patriotism.