China’s latest security target: Halloween party goers

Police escorted Buddha down the street, with one police officer guiding him with both hands. They rushed out a giant poop emoji from a cheering dance circle in a public park. He then attacked Donald J. Trump, whose ear was bandaged, and forced a Kim Kardashian lookalike, wearing a tight black dress and pearls, into a police van, before she turned around and yelled at a crowd of onlookers. waved.

Over the weekend, authorities in Shanghai were on high alert against the looming threat of Halloween.

Authorities have cracked down on this year’s Halloween festivities after many young people turned last year’s festival into a rare public forum for political and social criticism. People poured into the streets dressed as coronavirus testers, mocking the three years of lockdown they had just endured. They were busy posting job ads during a downturn in the job market. They took the opportunity to cross-dress and express their LGBTQ identities without prejudice.

At the time, many on Chinese social media praised the festivities as a fun form of group therapy. The Shanghai government issued a news release calling the celebration a testament to the city’s “cultural tolerance” and the “wisdom of city managers.”

“There are no festivals in China that are solely about having fun,” the newspaper said. “Halloween filled that void.”

But in recent years, authorities have increasingly placed restrictions on personal expression, including seemingly non-political expression. They are also wary of impromptu crowds, especially after the 2022 anti-lockdown protests. So, despite the praise he received last year, he seems determined to prevent it from happening again this year.