Police officers stood guard near barricades along Julu Road in Shanghai, China, where people in Halloween costumes had gathered the previous year. – Reuters
Shanghai police patrolled the city's downtown streets over the weekend to curb Halloween celebrations in China's most cosmopolitan city. Local authorities seemed to be taking measures to avoid a repeat of last year's event, when Halloween revelers filled central Shanghai, with some donning costumes that mocked the Chinese stock market, youth unemployment, and strict COVID-19 policies. This weekend, increased police presence, online warnings about a crackdown, and persistent rain kept the festivities to a minimum. At least half a dozen people in costumes spotted in Shanghai's Zhongshan Park on Friday night were seen being escorted away by police, according to Reuters witnesses.
Although there was no official city-wide ban on Halloween, local district officials had sent pre-weekend notices to businesses, encouraging family-friendly celebrations and discouraging activities where adults would wear costumes. A bar and restaurant owner in the Jing An nightlife district was asked to sign an agreement issued by local authorities, pledging not to organize any costume-related activities to 'maintain good social order and public image,' as he revealed on Friday. Reuters reviewed a copy of the order the owner signed. Jing An district police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
One party-goer, dressed as a skeleton on Friday night in the Jing An district, was detained by police and taken to an administrative building, where he was asked to remove his makeup. He declined to be identified for privacy reasons. By Saturday, news of Shanghai's crackdown on Halloween had become a trending topic on Chinese social media sites, including Weibo. 'Even in relatively open Shanghai, the scale of freedom is constantly shrinking,' one user commented.
Officially sanctioned Halloween celebrations at the Shanghai Disney Resort and Happy Valley Amusement Park proceeded as scheduled.
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