Shanghai police are pushing back against Halloween celebrations after revelers dressed in costumes that mocked the Chinese government last year.
Witnesses reported seeing authorities breaking up crowds and arresting Halloween revelers, BBC reported. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as there’s been talk of it happening leading up to the season. In fact, several business owners received government notices discouraging them from hosting any sort of holiday event.
However, there didn’t seem to be any official prohibitions.
Still, that didn’t stop police from making arrests—despite most costumes being uncontroversial. Allegedly, at one point during the night, a group of police even blocked off Zhongshan Park in Shanghai.
“As we left the park, we were told to take off all our headgear,” a Shanghai resident told BBC. “We were told everyone leaving from that exit could not be costumed.”
Other eyewitnesses claimed that the police officers were recording the details of people dressed in costumes.
“Shanghai is not supposed to be like this,” the source told BBC. “It has always been very tolerant.”
One person—who was dressed as a buddha—was apparently even taken into custody, according to NBC News.
This crackdown on holiday festivities follows last year’s celebration, which involved tons of residents sporting costumes like hazmat suits, Covid testers, censored Weibo posts, and surveillance cameras—clearly poking fun at the Chinese government.
It’s unclear just how far Shanghai police will go in the week ahead, but it’s best to just assume Halloween is canceled.
The post Shanghai Police Crack Down on Halloween, Force Partygoers to Remove Costumes appeared first on VICE.
The post Shanghai Police Crack Down on Halloween, Force Partygoers to Remove Costumes appeared first on VICE.
