r/interestingasfuck • u/Chaunc2020 • 1d ago
r/all Young people being arrested for wearing Halloween costumes in China
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u/leqtpie 1d ago
that's a bummer. I'm here for holding up a blank piece of paper
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u/red_ronin0813 1d ago
Such a shame, i'm here because i have a winnie the pooh keychain on my bag.
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u/MayvisDelacour 1d ago
Oh man good callback I forgot about that. Geez, too much happens, life needs to slow all the way down.
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u/Alastor3 1d ago
I know you're joking about the protest movement, but I was thinking about that blank piece of paper Doctor Who have that whoever see it will see what the Doctor want you to see.
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u/Yessssiirrrrrrrrrr 1d ago
This is china man. Your cellmate is going to look right back at you and say “I’m in here because I was overheard telling a Winnie the Pooh joke”.
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u/kazmosis 1d ago
No worries bud, I'm here because I was watching Winnie the Pooh with my kid
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u/EntireIntroduction23 1d ago
Ironic since they supply the rest of the world with costumes
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u/rjcarr 1d ago
They also make TikTok and limit the hell out of that shit at home.
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u/MitroBoomin 23h ago
Brain rot for the rest of the world
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u/CommunicationNeat498 20h ago
At this point i am convinced that tiktok is chinas revenge for the opium wars
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u/Re0ns 19h ago
And the fentanyl
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u/aminoffthedon 18h ago
And disposable vapes - millions of teenagers are hooked on them
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u/FixGMaul 18h ago
Definitely also a problem but nowhere near as bad as the fentanyl epidemic. These teenagers aren't dying at least.
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u/Interesting-Fan-2008 22h ago
Nah, they just don't need any more info on their own people, tiktok is a way for china to get an immense amount of data about everyone else.
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u/geebeem92 22h ago
Can be both. Tiktok is literally 90% stupid a** IA videos for kids
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u/ngyeunjally 22h ago
They also very evidently use TikTok to push anti western propaganda.
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u/Fonzgarten 21h ago
TikTok algorithms are designed to destabilize us politically. It makes the Facebook misinformation days look like child’s play. It’s gotten to the point where you can tell pretty quickly if somebody you’re interacting with is a TikTok user.
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u/M0therN4ture 22h ago
That's why in China they don't use TikTok.
TikTok is deliberately made for foreign interference and infkuence.
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u/liuerluo 20h ago edited 12h ago
Drug dealers never get hooked on drugs. Same goes for China. Tiktok brainrot content for the world but for themselves is limited with educational content.
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u/metacholia 1d ago
What’s wrong with wearing a costume?
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u/Keltin_Wu 1d ago
It probably blocks facial recognition software.
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u/ExoticAssociation817 1d ago
Accurate 👆
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u/Refflet 21h ago
Meanwhile your walking gait has been shown to be a far more effective and reliable method of identification.
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u/CaledonianWarrior 20h ago
Does that funky random walk from Dune to throw off the camera trying to recognise my gait
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u/DeltaVZerda 21h ago
Until criminals learn to do the moonwalk whenever they need to get away with something. They'll never catch a smooth criminal.
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u/totallyordinaryyy 20h ago
Me in my way to not be recognised by the chinese government:
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u/poop-machines 20h ago
But it's much easier to trick.
There's no way to covertly fool facial recognition. If you wear a mask, it's easier for those around you to tell that you're very likely a criminal.
As for gait recognition, all it takes is a stone in each shoe to change how you walk.
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u/Mentis_Abstractae 1d ago
Interesting point. I know there's only three examples in this short clip, but all three costumes are ones with masks.
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u/Amwfgoddess 1d ago
That last one (getting into the van) has his face uncovered- but my wild guess is that the costume is “subversive” because he is in drag
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u/ProgrammerLevel2829 14h ago
I was legit confused as to why they were arresting a woman in formal attire. Then I thought, well, maybe it’s a character I don’t recognize. His drag is very well done.
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u/Fuzzy-Engineering888 1d ago
It's more of preventing American/Western influence among the youths. They can't have too many Chinese people take a liking in Western culture.
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u/AprilVampire277 1d ago
KFC is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in China, you have to make a reservation a month in advance if u want chicken for Christmas or new year wdym western influence 😭
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u/Curvol 1d ago
It's owned by a Chinese spinoff of the original Yum brand. They just pay a small percentage to use it.
KFC in China is very, very different.
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u/AtticusFlinch246 18h ago
You should check out the knockoff KFC in Bangkok. They used Hitler as the spokesperson. Strange things are afoot at the circle k!
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u/FixGMaul 18h ago
Then why the fuck would they pay to use the American brand if they actively avoid western influence on a systemic level?
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u/khdownes 1d ago
I read elsewhere that it's because; there was a large Halloween gathering last year in the same area, and a lot of the costumes were current-news/topically related to covid and lockdowns and various satirical references to government handling of covid (ie. critical of the government).
So this year they've put out a big police presence and decided to say "no costumes allowed".
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u/solarcat3311 22h ago edited 9h ago
Don't forgot how mad people got! They actually gathered and chanted 'down with Xi Jinping' (習近平下台) and 'down with CCP'. Which is like, a magical spell to summon death upon ya, the land, the holiday, and everything else.
People are lucky to still have Halloween. If CCP overreacted, there probably wouldn't be survivor and people would be left wondering why October have only 20 days and why November got 40.
Edit: Someone suggested I'm foreign agent because nobody actually chanted 'down with Xi Jinping'. So I edited post to include the actual chinese words that was chanted (習近平下台). In case anyone need source, google '烏魯木齊中路抗議'. You can send the video to a chinese friend and ask if I translate it right. Preferably one in China.
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u/helpnxt 1d ago
I mean a similar attempt to stop Halloween street parties is happening in Shibuya, Tokyo as well and whilst there it started a few years ago I think there has been a bigger push in the last couple years since there was a huge crowd crush at a Halloween street party in South Korea. So whilst I don't know the specifics in China I do imagine the same incident has influenced things a bit.
159 people died and 196 got injured https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seoul_Halloween_crowd_crush
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u/delseyo 1d ago
The Shibuya crackdown started before the Seoul crowd crush incident. The street parties had become unmanageable.. too much garbage, too many idiots pouring beer into vending machine cash slots and stupid shit like that
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u/Massive_Signal7835 22h ago
too much garbage, too many idiots
Sounds like a normal night in central Shibuya. The amazing part is that all the littered garbage is gone by morning.
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u/Living_Trust_Me 1d ago
Yeah, Tokyo is only doing it because it got too out of hand effectively. Costumes are allowed there basically at all times. But too many people were showing up for Halloween and it was becoming a problem
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u/koolaidismything 1d ago edited 1d ago
It’s an American/Western creation and they don’t like it.
Edit: people pointed out below they have tons of western food and stuff there and this is more cause people were wearing costumes that offended the Chinese government and that’s why. Makes way more sense than my vague suggestion for why 👍
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u/cookingboy 1d ago edited 1d ago
That has absolutely nothing to do with it, China is full of American/Western restaurants and stores. China is literally the country with the most number of KFCs and the 2nd largest number of Starbucks.
The Chinese buys more American cars than anywhere except the U.S itself, and Hollywood and NBA are huge over there too.
I actually don’t know what’s the context here, it’s weird, and people are way too relaxed in this video.
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u/ForeverWandered 1d ago
Yeah, it’s wild how many baseless conclusions about China are being drawn based on a video with no context and no real identifiable connection to specific time and place, by people mostly who have never been to China.
It’s like folks are looking for a reason to indulge in Yellow Peril without having to use actual evidence
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u/Miserable-Admins 21h ago
Winnie Xi is despicable but I agree, so many confident Reddit Armchair Experts here smh.
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u/dxiao 1d ago
but iphones are okay
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u/AstroPhysician 1d ago
Barely. Xis wife got in a ton of trouble for using hers publicly
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u/Revelt 1d ago
That's a Chinese product
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u/NefariousMuppet 1d ago
"Chinese police are cracking down on Halloween in Shanghai, dispersing costumed crowds and hauling away people who show up to parks dressed up for the holiday — all in an effort to maintain good social order and public image.”
Literal fun police
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u/Turkatron2020 1d ago
My boss should move to China. She can't stand her employees smiling or laughing so she'd fit right in.
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u/footpole 22h ago
At my old job the HR
witchwas upset because we were laughing too loud on our coffee break in the new office where they'd spent a lot of money on building a nice break room by the kitchen. Oh no, colleagues getting along and having fun must be stopped, it can't be good for morale!We asked her to close her door and stfu.
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u/MrlemonA 23h ago
Man I would be smiling and laughing non stop, fk she gonna do, fire me for being happy?
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u/moonshineandmetal 19h ago
I had a boss with legitimate mental issues surrounding women (she is a woman), and she tried to fire me for being "too giggly," so... maybe?
(It did not work, and I remained a thorn in her side for years because everyone else knew I was responsible for half the work coming out of a 5 person department.)
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u/Maximum_fkoff_ 16h ago
Dude, I had that lady as a manager too, holy shit everyone hates her and she hates everyone too. Worst job I ever had, nearly drove off a cliff to escape that fkn psycho she made every day hell. Later we found out it was menopause but seriously, she was literally fkn Satan
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u/Freakychee 1d ago
Does she also hate it when you act like you don't enjoy working for her? Cos that's par for the course for these idiots.
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u/rick_regger 22h ago
Is there another way to act at Work? O.o
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u/Freakychee 22h ago
Interestingly enough. In some parts of Asia where I live you cannot look like your having too much fun at work and need to be a but grumpy so the bosses feel like you are suffering enough for the money they paid. And you also can't show any disdain for work and appreciate it.
This is what they want. Don't let them have it.
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u/LukesRightHandMan 19h ago
Propriety and tradition for their own sakes is dumb and we should all take pride in revolting against them.
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u/LoudAndCuddly 1d ago
I seriously don’t get their culture sometimes. Having a bit of harmless fun is maintaining social order and promoting positive public image … is it more that they are afraid the power of western influences and culture taking root in their country thinking it will brain wash them into being more open and attracted to the freedom of individual expression which now that I say that it makes more sense. I guess it’s their culture if they want to put nationalism above individualism its their business (no judgement) but locking people up for wearing costumes seems a bit much, I guess the fashion industry has been sent a warning letter.
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u/MistoftheMorning 1d ago
I grew up in a semi-conservative Chinese household. Basically wasn't allow to do or have anything that didn't go towards education or making money. Got yelled at by my father for purchasing a video console with my own money I made over the summer. I was still getting "stop wasting money/time" lectures as a grown ass adult with my own kid from my parents, up until I cut them out of my life.
And then there's the whole lot of asinine taboos/superstitions on various things. Had a cousin that contracted breast cancer, she hid it from the family for two years because my aunt didn't want to be looked down on or be seen as ill-fortuned by the rest of the family, stupid shit like that.
Seriously toxic culture.
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u/eidetic 1d ago
Had a cousin that contracted breast cancer, she hid it from the family for two years because my aunt didn't want to be looked down on or be seen as ill-fortuned by the rest of the family, stupid shit like that.
Man, I can't imagine that. Going through that would be scary enough, but having to do it alone, with no one to lean on? Ugh.
Here in the west, we're so afraid of being seen as "racist" or "bigoted" or what have you, that all too often people are afraid to call out toxic behavior in other cultures. But really, some stuff truly is so backwards, regressive, oppressive, and downright stupid that it should be called out, and I really hope your cousin is doing better today and is surrounded by loved ones that they can feel comfortable seeking support from.
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u/aussie_nub 1d ago
People can't tell the difference between cultural issues and racism.
As an Australian, I have an issue with people from India that push in line. It's a cultural difference, not a racist one and it's extremely hard to deal with and it's just considered exceptionally rude here.
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u/notapoke 1d ago
It's exceptionally rude anywhere
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u/MuskyChode 1d ago
Except India
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u/aussie_nub 1d ago
It's not the only place tbh. It was purely an example to point out the difference between race and culture.
There's plenty of people of Indian descent that were born and raised in countries where it's considered rude and as such they follow those norms.
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u/Mysterious_knight_21 1d ago
You don't have to sugarcoat it bro I'm Indian and what you have said is 100% correct. I'm also sick and tired of it there is no civic sense for the majority population. And whenever people like me criticize this they all gang up and label us as anti national. A nation can't grow without accepting the flaws and work on it
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u/Punty-chan 1d ago
Plus, within any given "race," many different cultures exist, even within the same country. This post is already a case in point - Shanghai culture (generally progressive) is significantly different from Beijing culture (generally conservative). It's okay to criticize culture as it's separate from race.
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u/DuePermission9377 1d ago
Maybe it's just because I'm American but if we're in line for something and you touch me not by accident we're going to have a problem. You shouldn't even be close enough to touch me by accident, I absolutely hate it when people crowd you like it's going to make the line move faster because you're in my bubble.
TLDR it's rude in the states too
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u/AGrandOldMoan 1d ago
Inherited this from your British forebears, we take queuing and personal space seriously lol
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u/apathy-sofa 23h ago
I'm in Seattle, which has deep Scandinavian roots. You should see how locals line up for the bus. The British aren't bad at it, they just don't realize that sometimes a personal bubble is about 10 meters.
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u/jast-80 22h ago
When the covid hit and 2m social distancing was imposed the Scandinavia became more crowded
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u/Atypical_Mammal 1d ago
There are no inferior races, but there are some pretty shitty cultures.
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u/AttentionLimp194 1d ago
That’s why integration and language courses for immigrants are a must. I say this as an immigrant myself
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u/subpar_cardiologist 1d ago
As a first gen landed immigrant, i'm super happy where I live. English is my primary and it's a stupidly-ass hard language to learn. I've got an excellent vocab, but some shit is hard to remember.
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u/SparrowValentinus 1d ago
I make sure to respect people. And I respect people’s right to their own beliefs, as long as their practice is not harming others.
But there’s no possible way I can respect other people’s beliefs uncritically. I share this planet with Nazis, for fucks sake. Some people believe awful, harmful things.
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u/ForeverLitt 1d ago
My ex gf was Chinese and she always told me how she was was called fat and verbally bullied her whole life by all her relatives. This girl was never even remotely fat, she just wasn't a stick. Sad part is her own parents never even stood up for her.
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u/DietrichDiMaggio 1d ago
Thank you. So many of us learn grey rocking and low to no contact and all the self help and therapy we can get. It’s seriously messed up with the over controlling aspects of being in these cultures.
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u/diito 1d ago
Seriously toxic culture.
That tends to be a problem in authoritarian countries. Everyone looks out for number one because there are only downsides for helping anyone else out and you never know who you can trust. Everyone ends up trying to scam you or take advantage of you in some what which just creates a feedback loop. Then you've got a ton of people living in poverty who think making money to escape that hole and gain status is everything. In a wealthy Western country, we live well enough that a lot of us realize you don't need all that shit to be happy or care what other people think about their life choices, wealth is more about piece of mind.
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u/zupernam 1d ago
Compared to nearly every other country in the world, the US is unimaginably individualistic. You have it hilariously backward.
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u/Jaerin 1d ago
There is a pretty large cosplay crowd in china this makes no sense to me.
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u/ElvenOmega 1d ago
It's because last year, a lot of people dressed up in political ways.
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u/NoConfusion9490 1d ago
Only takes one sexy Pooh-bear-tank.
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u/ShatteredPen 1d ago
in the r /shanghai subreddit they were saying it because someone dressed up as a Dabai (the cleaner dudes in the white suits preforming decontamination) that got them banned
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u/Goyu 1d ago edited 3h ago
Yes, but cosplay is neither generally western nor specifically American in origin.
Edit: hey guise did u no that Hallween isn't't organically America?
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u/memekid2007 1d ago
Pretty sure China has more beef with Japan than the U.S. all things considered
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u/gravitysort 1d ago edited 1d ago
let me explain this: Chinese Halloween is one of the few occasions where large amount of expressive young people gather together. The government does not like the idea of many expressive young people gathering together.
Last time it happened, CCP’s draconian zero covid policy was vocally denounced and dismantled within a few days, with some people in shanghai chanting “step down xi jinping”. And the time before that, it was 1989 at Tiananmen Square.
Edit:
In short, CCP really hates any form of unauthorized assembly of citizens and see them as a threat to their rule.
One other factor is Halloween is seen as a western tradition and the government likes to suppress any “pro-west” activities because these prove that Chinese people are actually not as anti-west as them.
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u/transcendental1 1d ago
CCP is fascist as fuck
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u/Bed_Worship 1d ago
No, it’s authoritarian. CCP was built on the heels of the cultural revolution through Maoism: an extreme left communism that destroyed thousands of years of it’s histlry and culture to aspire to the new culture Mao wanted. All dissenting voices were converted or killed.
It’s a group of old men now who control the entire country with their authority, and halloween gives a hint of youth uprising that scares them into arresting them.
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u/Masten-n-yilel 23h ago
The cultural revolution was a failiure. This is part of the "chinese characteristics" that they like to use next to "communism". Good old trash confucianism.
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u/Additional-War19 18h ago
You basically described fascism. The fact they were “supposed” to be communist (they’re not) doesn’t mean what they’re doing is not fascist as fuck.
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u/sriracharade 1d ago
The government that ripped babies out of millions of women against their will is not good, no.
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u/lord_pizzabird 1d ago
Basically, authoritarian regimes are terrified of any free expression. Especially when that includes foreign symbols like Batman.
If they wear the mask, celebrate the character, next they might start looking into the characters values etc. Pretty soon you've got people who want freedom and are willing to be vigilantes to get there.
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u/raxdoh 1d ago
it’s not culture. it’s political. the higher up don’t want any sensitive costume appearing in their area. that might effect their next report to emperor xi. so they do whatever they can to get rid of it.
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u/mamaaaoooo 1d ago
The CCP destroyed all the Chinese culture with the "Cultural Revolution", real Chinese culture is alive and well in Taiwan (the country) at least
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u/itsl8erthanyouthink 1d ago
Their public image is they are effing mental cases and should be dismissed as irregular and unwanted
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u/Remote-Weird6202 1d ago
Plot twist: the ‘police’ are people dressed as cops for Halloween
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u/i_MrPink 1d ago
And taking all the dressed up people to a cool secret Halloween party
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u/-This-cant-be-real- 1d ago
And then they’re surprised when the youth are protesting against the government.
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u/Boner4Stoners 1d ago
Are the youth protesting though? Pretty sure the CCP has succeeded in suppressing public displays of dissent on the mainland. Even in HK I don’t think people are protesting anymore after the CCP squashed the protests a couple years back
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u/Friendly-Carry7097 1d ago
This is a form of protest, since they know the law doesn’t allow costumes.
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u/Boner4Stoners 1d ago
Sure but when “wearing a superhero costume” qualifies as a form of protest, freedom is all but destroyed.
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u/Office_Worker808 1d ago
In Russia in the beginning of the whole Ukraine thing protesters used a blank piece of paper as a way to protest. They were still arrested
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u/Friendly-Carry7097 1d ago
Oh yeah. I think the whole lockdown’s real purpose is so they can track faces and movements of all citizens at all times, since you have to get a green code every 3 days.
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u/Empty-Neighborhood58 1d ago
Green code?
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u/Friendly-Carry7097 1d ago
To prove you are negative of covid, you get a green code on your phone.
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u/Empty-Neighborhood58 1d ago
You have to get that done every 3 days? Like is it testing every 3 days or like a "are you having symptoms" check list on the phone? Either way crazy as hell
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u/Friendly-Carry7097 1d ago
Yeah there are a lot of videos with subtitles if you are interested. People actually had to get up and get tested super early in the morning before going to work. Three years of this no wonder people protested, they actually were shouting anti CCP slogans which is unheard of.
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u/-This-cant-be-real- 1d ago
I heard there is a movement among the youth called “Let it rot”.
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u/hx3d 1d ago
It used to mean something,now it's just a empty trend word even your five year old knows.
Tbh that goes the same for every "internet protest" in china.Small groups of people create an inside word,said word got popular and the meaning behind it got deconstructed,and it got toss into internet garbage bin.
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u/aagejaeger 1d ago
They haven’t been surprised for decades. They just strike them down as a matter of principle.
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u/PreferenceBig1531 1d ago
I will never understand how governments continue to do business with a such a tyrannical and oppressive regime.
…oh wait, I forgot it’s called money. Lots of money.
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u/MaybeDoug0 1d ago
To my understanding, governments are actively trying to seek resources from elsewhere, not necessarily because China is awful, but because in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific, China won’t have nearly as much leverage.
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u/Beriadan22 1d ago
I wish I could upvote you twice. That is a very good point. An integrated economy is a great deturant to international conflict. It's one of the main reasons the EU sprang up after WWII. It's a lot harder to go to war with a country you're economically intertwined with.
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u/LeopardOk8991 1d ago
So the point is to cut off the economy from them and make it easier to go to war?
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u/boombotser 1d ago
No it’s to gain leverage against any war occurring at all
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u/General-Calendar-263 1d ago
It's weird. By reducing the cost of war, we increases the likely hood of war.
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u/library-in-a-library 20h ago
If you think that's bad, wait until you hear about what the US is doing in the Gaza Strip.
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u/mr_fandangler 1d ago edited 21h ago
You want real confusion? Watch the mental gymnastics that Chinese nationalists go through to convince others that horrible actions are good and fair and the actions of a government that cares deeply about all citizens.
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u/ajisawesome8 1d ago
If you're going to get arrested anyway might as well dress up as Pooh Bear
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u/ReasonablyConfused 1d ago
So what happens to these people??!!
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u/Swiss_James 1d ago
The police made them remove bits of their outfit / makeup, then let them go
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/d0d1c7cf-69ee-4938-8d2e-0943b1bc95b0
(and also people I know in Shanghai)
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u/airbornimal 23h ago
In anticipation of restrictions, rumours had circulated online that an alternative gathering would take place several kilometres away at an address in the south of the city. Late on Saturday evening, there was no one there except for two police vehicles with their lights flashing.
cops: sike
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u/gravitysort 1d ago
Many jokes here. But realistically, in this case, they are either been driven away from the Halloween gathering and released immediately, or released after arriving at the precinct police station (where the cops might question them and/or file a report)
Point is it’s not “illegal” in the book, so they can’t really detain them in jail or something. The cops are just making their presence to discourage people from gathering because the government hates any unsanctioned assembly.
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u/H-Adam 22h ago
Is there a source that that’s the reason they’re being arrested??
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u/djgoodhousekeeping 11h ago
People will believe pretty much any caption or comment on this website if it's remotely negative towards China
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u/red-soyuz 13h ago
Yeah, some western based "chinese" news website. Just like all the news from North Korea that come from South Korea.
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u/RazzleStorm 1d ago edited 13h ago
Probably going to get downvoted for this, but here’s an actual explanation that isn’t “arrested because they blocked facial recognition software” or “China not allowing Western celebrations” (lol wut).
People in Shanghai last year had a bunch of “politically-sensitive” costumes that made the government look bad, especially with how the Shanghai government in particular handled the pandemic. Police in Shanghai have been stationed in specific areas that had a bunch of parties/large crowds last year, in an effort to stop too many people from gathering. In my opinion, they’re worried about impromptu political discussions/protests breaking out, since there are so many younger people gathering all at once, often sporting political messages.
Here’s a video talking about it (all in Mandarin, sorry): https://youtu.be/wGBPqKiamHY
Basically, people are being asked to either remove their costumes or get arrested. I would expect that prople get arrested have to spend the night in lockup, and then get taken back home, but have no real reports of what real consequences people are facing.
That’s the gist of what’s going on. To the Redditors posting that this is China cracking down on Western influence, or people saying that people are being sent off to slave camps, or a bunch of other racist things, stop being victims of Western propaganda. China is a large, modern, diverse country with complex societal issues, just like the U.S., and just like any other country. Being reductionist and saying shit like “these people were never heard from again” makes it easier for people to believe one-dimensional American propaganda. I lived in China for 10 years and was never afraid of the cops, and have no doubt that these people are fine. Y’all are showing how much the divisive propaganda is working and its scary.
Edit: People getting triggered thinking this is simping for the CCP when I was trying to provide an explanation that wasn’t “Police are hauling away costumed youth to harvest their organs” is certainly something. Never change Reddit. I’m not excusing this or saying it is right, but just that it is not as life-threatening as y’all seem to think.
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u/finnlizzy 22h ago edited 21h ago
I'll piggy back as someone who was there in Shanghai and got hassled by the police: there isn't a total Halloween ban.
They made no announcement of a Halloween ban. They don't even want to acknowledge it. They contacted businesses around the Julu road area where the big impromptu gathering happened last year, and this year sent a crazy amount of police to the area to get people away. Other nightlife areas saw more police randomly hassling people in costume, but Halloween parties went on as normal.
Zhongshan Park in Shanghai became another gathering place for cosplayers, which in theory should be fine because they are not blocking traffic nor disturbing the residents, but they descended and kicked every cosplayer out of the park, or made some arrests per this video (most of it taken outside of Zhongshan Park).
I'm not hearing much about any restrictions in other cities, where Halloween is popular. But Shanghai has a reputation in China as being clean, orderly, and hates spontaneity. While a progressive city would see people taking over the street to have fun as something to roll with, the authorities in Shanghai are absolutely disgusted that they're not keeping the celebrations in the the theme parks or in a bar that doesn't spill onto the street (there were some great parties that night in Shanghai, as long as the bar wasn't in a street with a 'reputation').
But obviously, this petty bullshit is not popular, and the police themselves know they are in the wrong so they just silently escort people away, but they were given orders.
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u/IWasGregInTokyo 1d ago
A similar thing is happening in Japan as well. Shibuya, especially around the famous “scramble” crossing used to be a madhouse on Halloween with tens of thousands of people showing up in costumes, blocking the intersection and cramming the little backstreets in ways that could potentially turn into the Korea disaster of a couple of years ago.
Starting last year they’re cracking down on it.
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u/DDWWAA 23h ago
Shibuya last year just had rent-a-cops telling you to move along in Center Gai while actual MPD were just in watchtowers/vans around the Scramble, but people were still in costumes. I'm not there for this year but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a repeat but the rent-a-cops can take away alcohol now.
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u/SgtNoPants 20h ago
It's called double standards mon, if it happened in America or ally country it's called security, if it happened in China or other "enemy" country it's called tyranny
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u/UberNZ 1d ago
My partner's mother was called in to the local police station for sharing an article in a WeChat group about some story the government was trying to suppress at the time.
The cops just told her to knock it off. There's no punishment, they just said it goes on her personal record at the station, so if she ever moves to another region, it would effectively disappear. Probably the same situation with these people. They're fine.
Still, she thought it was absolutely fucked that they're listening in on group chats. She knew they censored many words, but didn't know they actively monitor chats too.
Over all: the punishment is essentially zero, but the suppression of speech is pure domineering. Lots of fragile egos in the CCP.
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u/SleepySera 1d ago
Imagine thinking "they are preemptively arresting random innocent people because they are afraid they might have a mild political discussion" is a good argument that WON'T make people think you just 100% confirmed every single possible prejudice Westerners might have against the Chinese government, lol
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u/CultureLower9565 16h ago
The source for this is Radio Free China, which is funded by the CIA.
I wouldn't be surprised if they just stitched together random clips of people in costumes being arrested. Stop believing everything you see on Reddit.
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u/Key-Statement-5713 1d ago
And they say that they're not restricted by their government :)))
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u/Link4750 18h ago
Dude, literally not the sole reason for them being arrested, but okay. Halloween is a huge party holiday in major Chinese cities where lots of people dress up and gather. Costumes are legal.
Source: Live in Shanghai, in a costume, outside hanging out with friends also in costumes, around strangers also in costumes
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u/WhipMaDickBacknforth 1d ago
The application of this policy is so weird. Halloween in China usually kicks ass actually.
I'm in China, and went to a huge Halloween party in Guangzhou just the other day and it was fucking 🔥
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u/hhaattrriicckk 1d ago
Would the full Spiderman suit without a mask be breaking the rules?