Gen Z ‘Chinamaxxers’ fantasise about life in China. This journalist and this artist can never go back there
A new graphic novel, You Must Take Part in Revolution, by Chinese-American journalist Melissa Chan and Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao, imagines a 2035 war between China and the US, and is aimed partly at young "Chinamaxxers" in the West who romanticise Chinese aesthetics and lifestyle online. Both creators have personally suffered for criticising China's government, and hope the book prompts young readers to think more seriously about authoritarianism rather than treat China as an ironic escapist fantasy.
The debut graphic novel follows characters from across the Chinese-speaking diaspora, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US and Tibet, opening with the real 2019 Hong Kong protests against an extradition law, and it also depicts the US as a proto-fascist state to avoid one-sided messaging. Chan was expelled from China in 2012 after officials refused to renew her press credentials, while Badiucao was forced to reveal his previously anonymous identity in 2019 after Chinese authorities threatened his family. The pair, now based in Berlin and Melbourne respectively, met in Germany in the late 2010s and spent five years developing the project, which they say draws on Japanese rather than Western graphic novel influences such as Maus.
In short
- New graphic novel imagines a China–US war in 2035.
- Creators Chan and Badiucao were both punished for criticising China.
- Book aims to challenge Gen Z "Chinamaxxing" trend with wider anti-authoritarian message.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The book’s advocates can argue that romanticising China online risks overlooking the coercion and political repression experienced by people who criticise its government. By drawing on the creators’ own experiences and including perspectives from across the Chinese-speaking diaspora, the novel invites young readers to engage with those realities while imagining the stakes of conflict more fully.
The case against
A thoughtful sceptic might argue that a fictional war story shaped by the creators’ painful experiences could lead readers to view China chiefly through the lens of authoritarianism and impending conflict. Young people’s interest in Chinese culture or aesthetics need not amount to political endorsement, and depicting the US as proto-fascist may complicate the message without resolving how to distinguish cultural curiosity from political romanticisation.
Explained simply
“Chinamaxxing” is an online trend in which some young people outside China imagine or portray life there as an appealing alternative to the West. China is governed by the Communist Party, which restricts political opposition and public criticism; people’s experiences also vary across the country and the wider Chinese-speaking world.
Melissa Chan is a Chinese-American journalist who was expelled from China in 2012 after officials did not renew her press credentials. Badiucao, a Chinese-Australian artist, was living anonymously until threats to his family led him to reveal his identity in 2019. Both have faced consequences for criticising the Chinese government and now live outside China.
Their graphic novel brings together characters from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and the diaspora, and imagines a future conflict between China and the US. Its depiction of political repression alongside problems in the US gives readers context for debates about authoritarianism, identity and romanticised images of life in China.
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