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Police in China’s biggest cities are cracking down on Halloween festivities this year, clearing streets of partygoers and interrogating costume choices, fearing that the holiday has become a sign of youth dissatisfaction with the government, NBC News reported.
The crackdown on Halloween follows unusually lively and large celebrations in Shanghai last year following the lifting of a three-year Covid-19 lockdown. Many young people used Halloween as a political outlet for political and social criticism, the news outlet said.
For example, some dressed up as Covid-19 test administrators to mock the lockdown, while others covered themselves in job advertisements to highlight weak employment opportunities in the country, according to France24.
But this year, the government, fearing another display of mockery and criticism, decided to quash the revelries.
Although formal restrictions on gatherings were not announced, Shanghai police vans last weekend lined up in popular streets like Julu Road that had hosted celebrations the previous year, with police questioning people in costume and checking IDs.
Videos on social media surfaced from another city, Hangzhou, showing costumed people being escorted away by police. Halloween events in the capital, Beijing, were also canceled.
The Chinese Communist Party has long subjected the Chinese to sweeping restrictions on cultural expression and political dissent, and is particularly wary of “Western” ideals, like the notion of Halloween, which officials fear will erode political loyalty among the young.
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