Direct translation
China's absurd blockade! Young people in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou took to the streets without fear of the red line
— Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou block Halloween again. Buddha, Deadpool, Batman, and it seems Fan Bingbing were all taken away
Editor : Fang Xun / Source: RFA / https://www.aboluowang.com/2024/1029/2122220.html
After Cosers made clear "political opposition" on Halloween in Shanghai last year, the Shanghai authorities ordered strict prevention and control this year, and started a large-scale arrest mode. Buddha, Deadpool, Batman and others were constantly forcibly taken away by the police. Witnesses of the "White Paper Movement" in Shanghai believe that young people are no longer passive and lying down, but are actively crossing the red line set by the authorities, and are not even afraid of touching the red line while the Chinese Communist Party authorities have adopted the most ridiculous and cost-effective stability maintenance strategy.
Reuters reported that last Saturday (26 October 2024), in Shanghai, China's most international city, the authorities strictly prevented people from participating in Halloween costume carnivals. The Chinese Communist Party authorities are obviously trying to prevent the recurrence of last year's people using costumes to express their dissatisfaction with the current social situation on Halloween. At that time, many people wore "Dabai" costumes that joked and protested against China's sluggish stock market, youth unemployment and extreme control policies of the covid epidemic.
As early as last Friday (25 October 2024), the authorities deployed a large number of police patrols and set up roadblocks in the areas of Julu Road and Changle Road, which are known as Shanghai's "Internet celebrity roads".
The Huangpu District Government of Shanghai previously issued a notice stating that the police required Huangpu District to ban any Halloween makeup elements; if found, verbal persuasion will be given first, and if they do not cooperate, compulsory measures will be taken. Shanghai Zhongshan Park also issued a closure notice last Saturday; some schools also issued notices asking students not to buy role-playing costumes and participate in Halloween parties.
Although Shanghai has not issued an official notice to ban Halloween uniformly across the city, officials from various districts notified some companies before last weekend, requiring the public to organize "family-friendly" celebrations and not to wear role-playing costumes to participate in Halloween activities. Some bars and restaurants were also asked by the district government to sign an agreement "promising not to organize any Halloween activities."
Image : In Shanghai and Hangzhou, many young people took advantage of Halloween to express their dissatisfaction with social injustice in a joking way. (Teacher Li is not your teacher X picture)
The ban from the authorities did not stop young people in Shanghai from celebrating Halloween in advance
However, the ban from the authorities did not stop young people in Shanghai from celebrating Halloween in advance. Since last Friday night, many young people have taken to the streets dressed as Buddha, Batman, Deadpool, barrel zombies, the Statue of Liberty, American star Kim Kardashian, etc.
Last Halloween, a participant in Shanghai became popular on the Internet for dressing up as Lu Xun and holding a sign that read "Studying medicine can't save China"; this year "Lu Xun" was also present, holding a sign that read "I quit"; in addition, "Chen Duxiu" was added, pointing at the "New Youth" sign. Others dressed up as police officers, mentally ill patients, etc. In Zhongshan Park, young people shouted "freedom", and a large number of young people sang loudly despite the police's obstruction, attracting a large number of Shanghai residents to watch and cheer.
Transvestites were constantly taken away by the police and their makeup and costumes were removed
The police began to forcibly expel or control the transvestites. Near Jing'an Temple, once the police found someone playing a role, they would take him into a house and forcibly remove his makeup and costumes. According to the pictures and videos posted by "Teacher Li is not your teacher" on X, cross-dressers are constantly being forcibly taken away by the police, so there are funny scenes of "Batman" and "Buddha Tathagata" being taken away by the police.
Image : On Julu Road and other sections in Shanghai, police cars are densely packed, and the police take away the "Buddha Tathagata" actor. (Teacher Li is not your teacher X picture)
Last weekend, the news of "Shanghai cracking down on Halloween" has become a hot topic on Chinese social media including Weibo. Some netizens believe that even in relatively open Shanghai, the space for freedom is constantly being compressed.
Comment: Young people who lie down and passively resist are also starting to take to the streets to touch the red line
Xia Chaochuan, a witness of the Shanghai "White Paper Movement" who is currently in exile in Europe, told this station that since the "White Paper Movement", many people have made clear political protests or expressed dissatisfaction and ridicule about social injustice on Halloween in Shanghai in 2023. This year, many young people who used to passively protest by lying down have also taken to the streets. Although they have not yet reached a mature political protest mode, many people have crossed the yellow line and even touched the red line.
Xia Chaochuan said: "Even if we know clearly that the police have strictly banned Halloween this year, people will not listen. In the past, people were more likely to face the whole society with an attitude of lying down, but now, people are not just using a kind of nothingness to resist their rule, but taking the initiative to do something. This step may be a long way from real political opposition, but everyone is trying to cross the yellow line, and even take the initiative to touch the red line, dancing between the yellow line and the red line."
Comment: The authorities' degree of stability maintenance on Halloween is no different from the suppression of the "White Paper Movement"
Xia Chaochuan also mocked the Chinese Communist Party authorities for facing the "entertainment-oriented soft expression" of the younger generation of Chinese people as a great enemy, and the degree of stability maintenance is no different in nature from the suppression of the "White Paper Movement". This is a very stupid response.
Xia Chaochuan said: "China's economy has been regressing. If they give young people some opportunities to vent, it may help them cool down and promote economic growth. They did not leave any openings, but continued to add sensitive dates one after another. From the "White Paper Movement" to now, even Halloween has become a new sensitive period. Every time they add a sensitive day, the cost of maintaining stability is no different from when they faced the June 4th and White Paper scenes. They are using a very absurd and very cost-effective way to maintain their own rule."
Comment: The "soft confrontation" of young people is also very powerful
Hu Xueyang, a sixth-generation Chinese director currently living in France, also said in an interview with this station that in this year's Halloween pictures, some people wrote "no money" on their clothes, revealing China's economic plight; some people dressed up as "Statue of Liberty" to refer to China's lack of democracy and freedom. The soft protest of young people is also very powerful.
Hu Xueyang said: "Halloween is called Ghost Festival, so ghosts are in the dark, exercising all their power behind the scenes. Now these young people use the euphemism of Yu Jin to lead the ghosts out, breaking the rules of those things that are really ghosts."
Image : At the Halloween carnival in Hangzhou, the police took away the "Jesus" actor. (Teacher Li is not your teacher X picture)
Shanghai's suppression of Halloween is not an isolated case. On Sunday (27 October 2024), Halloween in Hangzhou, Zhejiang was held on Zhongshan North Road. According to netizens, there were more than 10,000 people on the scene and the atmosphere was very warm but the police forcibly took away Batman, Deadpool, Iron Bucket Zombie, Fan Bingbing, Jesus and other role-playing pictures, which quickly went viral on the Internet. In addition, in Guangzhou Dongshankou Pedestrian Street, some locals said that Guangzhou and Shanghai are the same. If you find a cosplayer, you will be asked to take off your costume. On the same day in Taiwan, many young people dressed as the prison version of Ke Wenzhe and boarded the bus unimpeded.
Shanghai man plays a new trick on Halloween, holding a covered road sign to pay tribute to the White Paper Movement
Editor : Zhou Guihang / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2024/10/29/a103925419.html / Image : In the evening of 28 October 2024, a "costumed" man in Shanghai took to the street holding a covered road sign. (Internet photo)
The Shanghai authorities suppressed Halloween parties to prevent young people from taking the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the CCP. A man took to the street in a "costumed" manner holding a road sign with only the words "Zhonglu" exposed, suspected to commemorate the "White Paper Movement".
The video circulated online shows that late at night on October 28, a young man dressed in a uniform as a sanitation worker took to the street holding a homemade road sign. The road sign reads "I am on Huaihai Middle Road" and "I miss you very much". But when he walked on the street, he deliberately covered the other words with his clothes, leaving only the two words "Zhonglu", which easily reminded people of the "Urumqi Zhonglu" incident during the "White Paper Movement" two years ago.
In November 2022, a tragic fire in Urumqi triggered the "White Paper Movement" that swept across the country. At that time, many Shanghai people gathered at the local "Urumqi Zhonglu" to commemorate the dead souls of Urumqi and protest against the Chinese Communist Party authorities, and even collectively shouted slogans such as "The Communist Party should step down" and "Xi Jinping should step down".
At that time, in order to suppress resistance, the Shanghai authorities ordered the removal of all the road signs of "Urumqi Zhonglu". A photo circulated on the Internet shows that two sanitation workers covered the road signs with clothes when they lifted them.
Now this "dressed" person is suspected of deliberately imitating the scene at that time and commemorating the "White Paper Movement" implicitly. However, the "Huaihai Zhonglu" actually written on the road sign is a commercial street in Shanghai and is not sensitive.
Netizens gave thumbs up, saying that the man was both courageous and intelligent, and the police probably couldn't do anything to him. One netizen praised that this was "the most brutal job I've seen so far this Halloween."
The video circulated online showed that the man was questioned by the police after he went out on the street.
Image : The "dressed" man was stopped by the police. (Screenshot of online video)
The video has been deleted, and it is unknown what kind of punishment the "dressed" man received.
According to previous reports by netizens, Shanghai police suppressed Halloween parties, constantly forcibly took away "dressed" people, took them back to the police station and forced them to remove their makeup, and then asked them to leave their personal information, but there seemed to be no appropriate "crime" to impose punishment.
Currently, Shanghai Halloween parties are being suppressed, and a large number of young people in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and Guangzhou, Guangdong have begun to gather to celebrate, which have also been suppressed by local officials.
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