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The Chinese government doesn’t seem to be very comfortable with Halloween. At least in Shanghai, one of the country’s most international cities. Given the still current memories of what happened in 2023, where those dressing up as giant security cameras or censoring Weibo posts coincided with open criticism of the Xi Jinping Government, Shanghai authorities chose to frame this situation as follows: this year’s celebrations are short. Like? Deploying police officers dedicated to detecting disguised individuals.

Photos, videos and testimonies of police deployment at the gates of the big Halloween night already abound. There are media like BBC or South China Morning Post In fact, this shows that arrests have already taken place.

What happened? Shanghai authorities appear unwilling to allow a repeat of scenes from last year’s Halloween celebrations, when costumes became an unexpected tool of political, economic and social criticism. This means strengthening control on the streets.

What is known is based mainly on witnesses, photographs and videos, but there are reports from Reuters, BBC, CNN or South China Morning PostA Hong Kong-based newspaper agrees with this story: China’s financial capital Government seems determined to suppress Halloween celebrations and narrow their scope. There are already those on the doorstep of the major party imported from the United States who interpret it as an attempt to suppress public gatherings and restrict freedom of expression.

Screenshot 2024 10 29 133556

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

So how? Many police officers were dispatched to the streets where costumed people were seen. Agents are not limited to patrolling, either. Reuters agency reported how officers approached at least half a dozen costumed people in Zhongshan Park or detained a person in a skeleton costume who was attending a party in Shanghai’s Jing Ann district. Authorities took her to an administrative building and asked her to remove her makeup. They are not the only testimonies to this effect.

The BBC spoke to witnesses who saw police disperse costumed revelers into the street, or officers gathered on Julu Road in the city centre, asking costumed people to leave the area. A similar scene was about to unfold in Zhongshan on Saturday. “When we left the park, they told us to take off our hats. They explained to us that not everyone who goes there can be in costume.” The images also show fenced areas. There are reports that a park near the drinking area was closed on Sunday after people gathered in costumes.

Is there more? Yes, various media outlets, such as NBC or CNN, cite geolocated videos showing police deployment in areas where groups gathering to celebrate Halloween gather, or even a recording in which you can see how agents detain a man identified as Buddha. You can also read the testimony of a Shanghai resident on Weibo who claimed that he went for a walk at night with his six-year-old son. “He was wearing a hat with a pirate emblem and they even asked him to take it off. There were police everywhere.”

On Chinese social networks, it is talked about how disguised people were forced to give their names, identification numbers and phone numbers to the agents. Even though there are stories of people complaining about themselves to feed social networks seem to be empty. “Are Halloween costumes no longer allowed on Julu Road in Shanghai this year? Why isn’t there even a photo on my wall?”

Screenshot 2024 10 29 133703

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

But… is Halloween banned? No. At least not this way. There is no official announcement banning Halloween celebrations in the city. There are also events that are authorized by management and can take place as planned, such as those at Shanghai Disney Resort or Happy Valley amusement park. But for weeks, rumors and stories have been circulating that point to an attempt by city officials to narrow the scope of the party.

The BBC confirmed, for example, that at the beginning of October the Government sent warnings to some businesses in the city discouraging them from celebrating Halloween. The Reuters agency did something similar, quoting the owner of a business in Jing An who requested that authorities not hold costume contests “to maintain social order.” Some universities have sent notices to students advising them to avoid parties or outright “reduce attendance at large and small gatherings in the future.”

So why? The scenes are very different from those that remained in Shanghai during the 2023 Halloween celebration. For many, this is precisely the reason for police deployment this year. This past autumn saw people wearing costumes that, while being fun, represented implicit (or not-so-veiled) criticism of the Government. There were those who wore PPE suits similar to those used during the pandemic, those who imitated large security cameras or censored Weibo messages, and those who described themselves as an unemployed college student.

They were costumes, they were picturesque, but they also referenced, on their part, the management of the COVID Zero policy, government control, or the slowdown of the Chinese economy. There were even people disguised as blank papers; This was a reference to the “White Paper” protests that emerged during the pandemic and represent “the largest demonstration movement in China in a generation,” according to Human Rights Watch.

But… Why this change? Last year, Shanghai officials even called the Halloween celebration “a sign of cultural tolerance” and highlighted its “unique blend of Western traditions and Chinese creativity.” “It offered a glimpse into the changing cultural landscape of a vibrant city,” the city said in a statement. According to Alfred Wu, a professor at the National University of Singapore, there is a simple explanation for the contrast between 2023 and 2024.

Last year, the first Halloween celebration was held after strict COVID-19 control measures, and young people celebrated it en masse as authorities worked to return to normal. “This year the authorities are much more prepared and are opposing this type of activity,” he told CNN. Currently, the images do not show costumes like in 2023, but after the attack this summer, a person with a blonde wig and a bandage on his ear was seen imitating Donald Trump.

Pictures | Etan Liam (Flickr) and Li Yang (Unsplash)

in Xataka | China was supposed to build a garage under five historic buildings. Your solution: pick them up and move them

Source: Xatak Android

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