In Shanghai, people take to the streets in Halloween costumes. But then the police show up and arrests are made.
Halloween has long since arrived in Asia, whether in Japan, Thailand or Indonesia: at the end of October, pumpkins and horror masks hang in many shops, and there are parties in the evenings. Only in one country is the activity, which is particularly celebrated in the USA, viewed with skepticism. In China, the police have now taken action against citizens who were out and about in costumes.
Eyewitnesses told the British BBC that groups of costumed people were chased away by police in Shanghai. Photos of alleged arrests circulated on social media. There was initially no comment from the authorities. The Halloween festival is not officially banned in China, but there are persistent rumors that celebrations should be stopped.
This is probably mainly due to experiences from last year. At that time, citizens critical of the regime used the disguises to criticize the communist rulers. Costumes in the form of surveillance cameras or employees of the health authorities testing for Covid could be seen. The corona measures were very controversial in China.
Now even costumes reminiscent of the comic characters Batman and Deadpool will be banned, reports the BBC. Some detainees told the station that they had to wipe off their makeup.
Police vehicles drove up on the busy Julu Street in Shanghai last Friday and asked revelers to leave. There were similar incidents in a park on Saturday. At first, even the police officers marveled at the costumes, an eyewitness reported to the BBC. But then other units appeared and broke up the meeting.
Some restaurants, bookstores and cafés received letters from the authorities asking them to refrain from celebrating Halloween. Students received warnings from university management.
Until now, the authorities in Shanghai were considered more liberal. But since a funeral procession turned into a protest against Beijing’s Covid policy in 2022, the authorities seem to be taking tougher action. They obviously see two dangers: on the one hand, spontaneous gatherings that can quickly degenerate into demonstrations, and criticism of the Communist Party in the form of costumes.
Costumes depicting the cartoon character Winnie-the-Pooh have appeared again and again. He is said to resemble China’s dictator Xi Jinping; Beijing sees the depiction as a critical parody and it is now banned on social networks.
