Conformity is a prized commodity in the Xi Jinping era. And for those who don’t conform — to the Party narrative, or to a narrow definition of what it means to be “Chinese” — the state attempts to conform them, through pressure, censorship or detention.

This battle over identity in China is the core theme of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping's China (Crown, March 2025), a reported investigation of state oppression and grassroots push-back, from award-winning NPR correspondent Emily Feng. Based on her journalism on the ground, the book narrates the stories of varied individuals in China who run against the grain of society: a Uyghur family split apart by detention camps; human rights lawyers fighting to defend civil liberties; a teacher from Inner Mongolia fighting for his mother tongue; and a Hong Kong fugitive trying to find a new home.

Join us on Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. to hear Emily Feng talk us through these stories, and the challenges she faced as a reporter to gather them — ultimately leading to her own expulsion from China — in conversation with China Books Review editor Alec Ash.

An author book signing will follow the discussion, and copies of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom will be available for purchase.

Emily Feng is an award-winning correspondent for NPR covering China, Taiwan and beyond, reporting on everything from semiconductors to drones, environmental wastelands to girl bands. Formerly based in Beijing and Taipei, she now lives in Washington D.C. Feng is the author of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom (2025).

Alec Ash is a writer and editor focused on China, where he lived from 2008-2022. He is the editor of the China Books Review and the author of Wish Lanterns, about the lives of young Chinese, and The Mountains Are High. His articles have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and elsewhere. He formerly edited the China Channel at the Los Angeles Review of Books.

This event is presented by China Books Review.