Q&A With Emily Feng 

Recently I read an early copy of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity And Belonging In Xi Jinping’s China which will be published on March 18^th 2025. It was a very informative read, and I’m so delighted to be doing this Q&A with Emily Feng who on top of writing this book is a journalist & NPR correspondent! 

Q: Emily, would you please give a brief description of Let Only Red Flowers Bloom for those who haven’t read it yet? 

A: The book is a series of interlocking portraits of some of the most interesting people I met during my more than seven years reporting from China and the Chinese-speaking world. Each of them, I think, represents some facet of both Chinese identity and a vision for what China as a nation could be. Of course, a big part of the book is also how the Chinese state has their own, very distinct vision for what they believe “being Chinese” should entail, and how those visions collide. Every country must build its own sense of identity and purpose, but I am particularly fascinated with China’s, and I argue that the state obsession with identity in China is central to its economic, social, and foreign policy.  

Q: Why was now the time to write a book about your experiences speaking with the people in China that the regime goes after? How long did it take you to write this book?

A: The great thing about reporting for NPR is they give you space to let the people, the stories, and the sound breath – but I was hungering for an even longer form medium in which to connect all the different dots in my journalism journey in China. China is a difficult country to report in, and it can be so hard to spend enough time with a person to really understand who they are – and to render their experiences in enough rich, intimate detail that even those who have never been to China will empathize with these people. That’s my goal for this book, especially in a time when US-China relations are so tense, and when opportunities for people to travel to, work in, and report on China is becoming less and less possible.

Q: Many things stood out to me, one of them was the fact you recounted that you were followed a few times while in China! How did you handle those situations calmly? If I were in your shoes I don’t know if I would have handled it as well as you did. 

A: Journalists are self-selecting; I found I thrived under constant challenges, and it gave my reporting even more of a purpose, because I knew if I didn’t do these stories, there was a good chance they might never be publicized given the constraints put on the domestic, local Chinese press. There was (and is!) a wonderful community of correspondents in China who forsake the usual competitive spirit and instead help each other out by trading tips and travel advice all the time.  

Q: In 2017/2018 I remembered Pope Francis getting backlash from Chinese Catholic & Protestant Christians for defending the communist church when they are being persecuted by the government. Then in 2020 Disney received backlash for filming near a concentration camp where the Uyghur Muslims were being detained & killed. I’m so glad you covered the religious and ethnic persecutions that go on in China in your book. Does it make you mad like I do that the media doesn’t cover this enough? 

A: They do the best they can. The Chinese press is full of incredible, resourceful journalists who unfortunately face more political constraints, and censorship mandates that foreign journalists have the privilege of ducking – otherwise, I am sure the Chinese press would cover the story of China much better than the foreign press do. The foreign press based in China also do what they can, but China has been limiting how many journalists can enter and live in and work in China. This constrains the scope and depth of stories we have the time to report on. 

Q: I love how you also covered TikTok & WeChat & that the government in China uses it to spy. There is debate on whether the app should be banned or not. Honestly, I wish people would stop using the app. What do you think is the best course of action?

A: Given how many Americans use the app and rely on it for a living, I think there needs to be strong evidence the app is a national security threat for the U.S. to ban it. I have yet to see the US government present substantial evidence that supports their national security argument. There’s an entirely different debate about how much time we all spend on social media platforms, and in that case, TikTok and WeChat should be scrutinized like all other social media platforms, including Meta and Alphabet.

Q: If you are currently writing your next book, will it be something similar to Let Only Red Flowers Bloom or will it be something else entirely?

A: I haven’t thought about this to be honest!  I hope I am fortunate enough to have another future assignment, so it is so impactful that I am compelled to write another book.  

Q: What lessons do you hope readers learn after they read Let Only Red Flowers Bloom? How do you feel knowing that the government banned you from returning to China?

A: I hope this book is entertaining and moving to read, even for those who have never been to or even planned to go to China. Life is long and unpredictable, and I anticipate many opportunities to re-engage with China in the future.

Q: Considering the topic, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom, were there difficult memories that you re-lived while writing everything down? 

A: The book was incredibly therapeutic to write. I sat down and re-lived all the experiences I had reporting this story and came to understand how meaningful that time was to me professionally and personally. Writing the book was a way to make sense of my time in China and what it meant to me.

Q: Would you say being a journalist helped with writing this book? 

A: Of course! Being a journalist teaches you how to write quickly, on deadlines, and how to organize your thoughts in a coherent manner. But journalism also teaches you to remove yourself from the scene – but my publisher kept insisting (correctly) to write more about how each of the stories impacted me. Inserting myself into the book and writing the pronoun “I” took some effort, as I had to unlearn the third-person voice that’s common in journalistic writing! 

Q: Do you remain in contact with some of the living people in your book such as the Bookseller? I did enjoy reading his story about trying to give the people of China books that the government didn’t approve of. It’s ashame that he had to uproot his life but I’m glad his bookstore is in Taiwan. 

A: Yes, I do, and I’ve had the joy of meeting some of them several times after the reporting of the book was done and seeing how their own lives have progressed.