Reuters, SHANGHAI
Shanghai police patrolled the downtown streets over the weekend to crack down on Halloween celebrations in China’s most international city. Local authorities appeared to be trying to prevent a repeat of last year, when Halloween revelers thronged central Shanghai, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun of the Chinese stock market, unemployment among young people and the nation’s COVID-19 policies.
This year, the police presence, online postings about a crackdown and constant rain kept the revelry to a minimum.
At least half a dozen people in costumes in Shanghai’s Zhongshan Park on Friday were seen being led away by police.
Police officers keep watch on Julu Road, where people in Halloween costumes gathered a year ago, in Shanghai on Saturday.
Photo: Reuters
There was no official citywide notice banning Halloween, although local district officials sent notices to businesses in advance of the weekend encouraging family-friendly celebrations and discouraging activities in which adults would be wearing costumes.
A bar and restaurant owner in the Jing An nightlife district was asked to sign an agreement issued by the local district authorities pledging that they would not organize any activities such as costume contests “to maintain good social order and public image,” he said on Friday.
Jing An district police did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
One partygoer was dressed as a skeleton on Friday in Jing An district until he was detained by police, escorted to an administrative building and asked to remove his make-up, said the bar owner, who declined to be identified for privacy reasons.
By Saturday, news of Shanghai’s crackdown on Halloween was a trending topic on Chinese social media sites.
“Even in relatively open Shanghai, the scale of freedom is constantly shrinking,” one person wrote.
Officially sanctioned Halloween celebrations at the Shanghai Disney Resort and Happy Valley Amusement Park went ahead as scheduled.
