Yan Mo (雁默): Aliens don't exist, but the U.S. government needs them

The thesis — belief as social fuel

On Huxiu, commentator Yan Mo (雁默) argues bluntly that extraterrestrials probably do not exist — but that the idea of aliens remains politically useful to the United States. It has been reported that during the Chinese Lunar New Year period former president Donald Trump instructed federal agencies to search for and release files related to "aliens, extraterrestrial life, UAP and UFOs," citing "public interest." That procedural flap followed a high‑profile interview in which Barack Obama said he considers life elsewhere likely while stressing he had seen no evidence of contact during his presidency. The spectacle — vivid claims, cautious denials, and leaked rumor — tells a different story about public emotion than about hard facts.

Definitions, numbers and the limits of proof

Yan Mo’s piece frames the whole debate as a linguistic and epistemological mess. "Alien" means different things to different people: to an astrobiologist it might be microbial life on an exoplanet; to the public it often denotes humanoid intelligence. Statistics such as the Fermi paradox — "Where is everybody?" — are seductive, but statistics and intuition are not substitutes for evidence. Scientific controversies exist too: Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb’s claims about interstellar object 3I/ATLAS drew attention, yet most specialists found non‑UFO explanations adequate. The column’s point: belief in aliens often functions like religion, an emotional scaffolding rather than a provable scientific claim.

Why ambiguity suits governments

Why maintain ambiguity? Yan Mo suggests practical reasons: uncertainty keeps imaginations and media cycles alive, and it can serve bureaucratic and budgetary interests. Reportedly, Area 51 conspiracies and UAP mystique have been currency in American culture for decades. More concretely, money talks — NASA and defense budgets earmarked for UAP research, space situational awareness, and advanced sensor programs are the clearest, verifiable indicators of how seriously institutions treat the question. Secrecy can cloak mundane technical programs while sustaining political theater. Is the public being misled, or simply entertained? The answer matters for trust in institutions.

Implications for readers outside the U.S.

For Western readers unfamiliar with China’s tech-commentary ecosystem, Yan Mo’s column is an example of Chinese media translating a U.S. cultural and political episode into a broader reflection on modern belief, governance and science. Geopolitically, debates about UAPs intersect with national security, space competition and technology policy: transparency or the lack of it can shape export controls, satellite programs and military doctrine. Whether aliens exist remains unresolved. But as Yan Mo notes, the more important question may be why powerful actors — and publics — prefer that the mystery persist.