Ian Williams Ian Williams

Why the Great Firewall of China is waging war on Halloween

Hashtag searches blocked on Weibo, China's social media platform (Credit: Getty images)

The Chinese Communist party (CCP) is spooked by Halloween. In Shanghai, police have rounded up people gathering in costumes that included a Donald Trump with bandaged right ear, Spiderman, Deadpool and Batman. A man dressed as Buddha was also shown being escorted away in videos posted on Chinese social media, but quickly deleted by online censors. The aim seems to be to prevent a repeat of last year’s celebrations, when revellers used the occasion to take a tongue-in-cheek poke at the CCP, and costumes included a surveillance camera and hazmat suits (a swipe at Covid lockdowns).

It has at times been like a game of cat and mouse

The online censors have the most difficult task perhaps, since Halloween – which is surprisingly popular in China – is fertile territory for memes, puns and homophones. It will provide a test for a new campaign by the government to close what has been one of the last remaining ways for people to discuss sensitive subjects and poke fun at an increasingly humourless and paranoid CCP.

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