On New Year's Eve, the statue of Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing's Xinjiekou was surrounded by police. (Internet image)
[People News] On the eve of the New Year, various regions in mainland China issued notices cancelling New Year's Eve celebrations. On the night of December 31, locations that were once bustling with crowds celebrating the New Year were eerily quiet, replaced by a significant police presence on high alert.
In the official narrative of the Communist Party of China, 'uncontrollable factors' seem to be a reliable excuse. Recently, they cited 'uncontrollable factors' to cancel the performance contracts of several Japanese artists in China. They even went so far as to cut the power, abruptly pulling Japanese singer Otsuki Maki off the stage while she was performing. Now, 'uncontrollable factors' have been invoked again as a reason to prevent the public from joyfully celebrating the New Year, presented in a rather grandiose manner.
Let’s take a look at how the people of China spent New Year's Eve.
Citizens in Xi'an reported: 'We are under lockdown. The streets are filled with police!'
Citizens in Hebei stated: 'The police are blocking our way out!'
While people attempted to celebrate the New Year with fireworks, the police rushed in, arresting individuals and extinguishing the fireworks.
An astonishing scene unfolded in Hangzhou. A foreigner, trying to spark the festive spirit among the crowd, led a chant. The police on the scene immediately took this foreigner away. The Communist Party has arrested people on Halloween, on Christmas, and now on New Year's Eve, showing that even foreigners are not exempt.
The statue of Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing's Xinjiekou has historically been a gathering place for public New Year's celebrations. This year, however, the statue was surrounded by police, preventing citizens from approaching. Why are the authorities so fearful? Did Sun Yat-sen offend Xi Jinping? We analyse that there may be several reasons for this:
Firstly, Mr Sun Yat-sen championed nationalism, civil rights, and people's livelihood; however, under the rule of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the populace has never attained national independence, civil liberties, or happiness in their livelihoods. The Three Principles of the People are subjects that the CPC is hesitant to address and fears discussing.
Secondly, the statue of Mr Sun Yat-sen carries significant meaning. The authorities are worried that the public might start to reminisce about the former Nanjing government, and if someone were to suddenly call for rebellion, the situation could quickly become unmanageable.
Thirdly, the recent scandal involving Xu Huping, the former director of the Nanjing Museum, who was implicated in the theft and sale of national treasures, has incited considerable anger among the people of Nanjing. The CPC is concerned that this incident could serve as a trigger for protests.
Consider the scenario where the people of Nanjing suddenly shout 'Long live the Three Principles of the People,' demand 'to be children of China, not descendants of Marx and Lenin,' and call for 'democracy and civil rights.' Once this fire is ignited, it could spread like wildfire.
At present, the Xi Jinping administration is intent on extinguishing any sparks of protest and eliminating any potential sources of instability at their very inception.
According to Du Wen, the executive director of the legal advisory office of the former government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a movement against smoking and tax increases is set to emerge in mainland China. Reports indicate that starting in January 2026, the CPC will significantly increase tobacco taxes, which means that cigarette prices will rise sharply, impacting the 400 million smokers in China who will once again face substantial financial burdens.
Indeed, "Cigarettes have gone up in price again!" This might be one of the most frequent complaints among smokers in 2025. The primary reason behind this price hike is the dramatic increase in tax rates. For instance, in a pack of cigarettes priced at 30 yuan, approximately 20 yuan is attributed to taxes (including value-added tax, consumption tax, etc.). The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) refers to this as "taxation to control smoking" under its Healthy China strategy.
Interestingly, there is a saying circulating on the internet in mainland China that military spending is funded by smokers. While many might dismiss this as smokers trying to excuse themselves, a look at the CCP's military spending and tobacco tax revenue data from 2019 to the present suggests that this jest may not be entirely unfounded.
In 2019, the CCP's military expenditure was 1.19 trillion yuan, while the tax revenue from China's tobacco industry reached 1.18 trillion yuan. By 2022, the tobacco industry's tax revenue had risen to 1.44 trillion yuan, and in 2023, it further increased to 1.5 trillion yuan. These amounts are nearly equivalent to the total defence spending of the CCP for those years.
In 2024, the tobacco industry contributed 1.54 trillion yuan to the national finances of China, while the CCP's defence budget for 2025 is projected to be 1.81 trillion yuan. This indicates that the tobacco tax revenue for 2024 can no longer cover the entire military expenditure as it did in 2019, resulting in a shortfall of approximately 270 billion yuan between the two figures.
From 2020 to 2024, the annual growth rates of defence spending set by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are projected to be 6.6%, 6.8%, 7.1%, 7.2%, and 7.2%, respectively. As a result, with the increase in military expenditure, it has become a historical trend that cigarette prices will surge in 2025 and will also experience a dramatic rise in 2026.
Du Wen believes that this will be the most widely participated in, far-reaching, and highly concerning grassroots movement in China in 2026. Countless ordinary Chinese citizens are spontaneously joining a revolution characterised by a straightforward slogan that carries significant weight—' Quit smoking, don’t support those grandsons!'
Netizens also view this as the best and most effective reason to quit smoking, as every cigarette smoked contributes to funding the Communist Party and Xi Jinping's oppression of the populace.
It appears that when the general public begins to collectively quit smoking, the CCP's finances start to feel the pressure. Du Wen stated that this time, the people have cast a vote against the regime with their bodies. They are employing a remarkably simple yet effective method—putting down cigarettes—to deliver a clear, firm, and irreversible message to the Communist Party's long-standing exploitation: No!
(First published in People News)
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