Ahead of Halloween at the end of this month, police in Shanghai, China are said to be planning to completely ban Halloween costumes and related events. This appears to be the effect of Chinese young people’s satirical criticism of the government through cosplay at last year’s Halloween event.
On the 22nd (local time), the U.S. Radio Free Asia (RFA) cited an internal document from the local police, saying, “According to an internal document from the Shanghai police leaked on social media, police, officials, and business owners in Shanghai’s Huangpu district are prohibiting Halloween cosplay activities.” “Strict control will be implemented,” the report said.
[사진출처=홍콩 명보, 웨이보 캡처]
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A document distributed by Shanghai police to areas surrounding the bustling Huangpu district states, “All cosplay activities are prohibited and no Halloween makeup is permitted,” and “At first, we will persuade people verbally, but if they do not cooperate, we will take coercive action.” This was included.
In a document, the police said, “Buildings in the area must not have any Halloween decorations, such as pumpkins, ghosts, coffins, skeletons, etc., and elements related to fear or violence are not allowed. If this is discovered, the event will be stopped immediately.” “He said. In addition, he added, “Halloween-related terms and English are also prohibited in promotional items both online and offline.”
RFA pointed out that this crackdown appears to be an effect of government-critical cosplay that appeared on Halloween in Shanghai last year. In China, Shanghai is considered to be the place with the most colorful Halloween culture, as many foreigners have lived there for a long time and have a low resistance to Western culture. In particular, at last year’s Shanghai Halloween event, many costumes containing satire criticizing the government appeared.
At the time, young people in Shanghai dressed up as ‘Winnie the Pooh‘ and ‘COVID-19 quarantine agents’, which were subject to censorship by the Chinese authorities. Winnie the Pooh is a character that symbolizes Chinese President Xi Jinping, and as some netizens started satirizing him, he emerged as a character criticizing the president and became a target of censorship by the Chinese authorities. Additionally, the quarantine agent cosplay was interpreted as a criticism of the Chinese government’s coercive quarantine policies, such as city blockades.
RFA reported that the authorities appear to have taken action as posts were recently posted on Chinese social networking sites calling for people to enjoy Halloween festivals on the streets of Shanghai again this year. He pointed out, “Last year’s outfit seemed like a relatively safe way to give the authorities a political punch without getting involved in the problem, but this year’s festival attendees may come into conflict with the Shanghai authorities.”
Reporter Kim Hyun-jeong [email protected]
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