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CNN
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A year after Shanghai’s raucous Halloween celebrations made global headlines, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and revelers dressed as cartoon superheroes appeared as authorities appeared to crack down on the festivities. was taken away by the police.
Videos on social media show a heavy police presence in three of Shanghai’s busiest districts of bars and restaurants, where partygoers are usually detained at the annual event, which has close ties to the United States. There are growing concerns that individual freedoms in China will be further curtailed as the country celebrates its traditions.
Crowd control fencing was installed on some streets to restrict pedestrian traffic, and a park near another popular nightlife area where costumed partygoers had gathered on Saturday also opened the following day, according to images on social media. It was closed on.
The strict restrictions in China’s most cosmopolitan city come after last year’s sometimes raucous festivities, when young people gathered in droves to celebrate Halloween for the first time since China’s strict coronavirus restrictions were lifted. It was followed by many Wearing costumes aimed at social criticism is a rare phenomenon in a country where dissent in any form is not tolerated.
Chinese police appear keen to avoid similar scenes this year, with multiple videos geolocated by CNN circulating online showing police showing people wearing various Halloween costumes. The footage shows them calling out to each other and escorting some of them away.
It is not clear whether they were detained or simply escorted from the neighborhood. The circumstances that led to this interaction with law enforcement are also unclear. As of Tuesday, some videos were still circulating on China’s heavily censored internet, while others appeared to have been removed.
Some officially sanctioned Halloween celebrations, such as Shanghai Disney Resort and Happy Valley Amusement Park, went on as scheduled, but there was an apparent suppression of some public places. This year’s Halloween gatherings grabbed the attention of Chinese social media users, with one user on Weibo, China’s equivalent of X, noting that his social media feed felt particularly empty.
“Are Halloween costumes banned on Shanghai’s Zulu Road this year? Why aren’t there any photos on my feed?” she asked, referring to the popular nightlife area. Ta. Police were seen in online images geolocated by CNN. At one point, pedestrian flow on Juru Street was restricted.
As in other parts of Asia such as Japan and South Korea, many young people in China see Halloween as an opportunity to dress up in costumes and meet friends at venues with themed events.
But Chinese state media warned In recent years The protests against citizens being “overly passionate” about Western festivals are part of a broader nationalist backlash against perceived foreign influence.
last A young man, who imitated former President Donald Trump by wearing a blonde wig and bandaging his right ear, appeared to have ended his weekend celebrations early, according to a now-deleted post on Chinese social media platform Douyin. It is said that President Trump was bandaged in the ear after being hit by a bullet during the assassination attempt. In July.
Superheroes spiderman and batman and the man who wears them The men, all wearing yellow robes and beaded Buddha necklaces, were escorted away by police, according to an online video.
CNN has reached out to authorities in Shanghai for comment on the number of interactions it had with partygoers last year. It’s the weekend and I haven’t received a reply. Officers at the local police station said they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Crowd control measures are not uncommon in China for public places, especially on holidays, but some online users have openly wondered what it will mean for future Halloweens. are.
“(Probably) there will not be as many innovative celebrations of Halloween in Shanghai as in 2023. Halloween will slowly lose its sharpness and become more harmonized.” Written by user.
Last year’s Shanghai celebrations drew large crowds, with revelers using the holiday to poke fun at China’s strict coronavirus lockdown and lackluster economy.
Some were dressed as university graduates who had failed to find a job, evoking China’s economic slump and high youth unemployment rate. Some people draped themselves in protective gear, mocking China’s strict anti-coronavirus measures that have kept Shanghai under lockdown for nearly two months and sparked rare protests.
In a country where there is heavy censorship of both online discussion, media and entertainment, this rare public criticism was largely unhindered by police last year. Media reports said police enforced crowd control but did not appear to actively stop people wearing costumes.
The Shanghai government even praised last year’s Halloween celebrations as an “expression of cultural tolerance.”
“Shanghai’s recent Halloween celebrations, a unique blend of Western tradition and Chinese creativity, offered a glimpse into the vibrant city’s evolving cultural landscape,” the group said in a statement last year. said.
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said last year’s celebrations took place during a “gap period” during which Shanghai authorities were working to return to normality less than a year after lifting restrictions. It was said that it was done in New coronavirus lockdown.
“This year the authorities are much better prepared and do not consent to this type of activity,” he said.
