Star Trek's Mao Moment

Star Trek, science-fiction, and fiction in general, allows authors to present commentary on real-world issues in a removed environment. Star Trek has been notorious for introducing topics of the day, such as commentary on the Vietnam war by introducing a planet whose opposing sides are armed by the Klingons and Federation. Frank Gorshin, the Riddler, plays "Bele" in an episode on race relations. There are many more takes and commentaries, but you get the idea. In this, I look at how Star Trek draws attention to the CCP atrocities, and, in a way that parallels many suspected rumors of other tyrants slipping back into obscurity and how these tyrants gain and maintain control ala "Spock's Brain".