Shanghai Halloween Party, Young People Use This to Express Discontent with the CCP, Fight for Freedom. Police on High Alert. (Sourced from netizens, composite by Dajiyuan)
People News Report — On the evening of Thursday, October 31, Chinese dissidents and Chinese-American community members in Los Angeles appeared as characters such as “Hu Jintao,” “Xi Jinping,” “police,” and “Winnie the Pooh” at West Hollywood’s massive Halloween cosplay party. Participants performed skits for passersby, reenacting scenes like "Hu Jintao being taken away," "Young people in Shanghai being arrested for singing on Christmas," and "Raise your hand if you disagree," to show solidarity with the young people in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and other cities who were arrested for “cosplay” activities on the eve of Halloween.
According to Voice of America, participants reenacted scenes from October 26, when young people in Shanghai gathered for a Halloween event at Zhongshan Park. Together, they sang the Phoenix Legend song "All Is Love." In a recording, police at Shanghai's Zhongshan Park are heard dispersing the young people, saying, "Do not take photos here." On the night of October 26, thousands of young people gathered at Zhongshan Park, shouting for freedom. The next day, on October 27, the park was suddenly closed.
During the Los Angeles event, participants made a live phone call to Shanghai's Zhongshan Park to inquire if the October 27 closure and arrests of Halloween participants were ordered by the authorities. The response they received was that the park was closed for “internal maintenance.”
A looped recording of CCP leader Xi Jinping's “Raise your hand if you disagree—no, no, no” from the closing ceremony of the 20th Party Congress was played at the event. A participant playing “Hu Jintao” shouted, “I disagree,” and was promptly escorted away by two participants dressed as “police.”
The event spanned a one-mile section of West Hollywood, attracting tens of thousands of onlookers from different ethnic backgrounds. People took photos, clapped, and cheered, creating a lively atmosphere.
Strict Police Enforcement Against Halloween in China
The week before Halloween, a tense atmosphere spread across China, from Shanghai to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. Last year's Halloween street celebrations in Shanghai drew widespread global attention. Many young people used costumes to express their views on social issues and satire. The Shanghai government stated at the time that the celebrations demonstrated cultural inclusiveness in China’s largest city, but a year later, local police tightly restricted Halloween celebrations.
According to information circulated online, faculty members at universities in Beijing and Shanghai were recently instructed by authorities to remain on duty and prevent young people from “cosplaying” during Halloween. In Beijing, police filled the streets, sidewalks, and subway stations, while in Shanghai, the response was even more intense. On Julu Road, the main location for last year's Halloween cosplay parties, there was a police officer every few meters. People in costumes were taken inside, forced to remove makeup, change clothes, and have their speakers confiscated. Zhongshan Park was directly closed, and even a passing foreigner was questioned by police because they suspected he was in costume.
Born in Hong Kong, artist Fragile君, who was investigated by local police for creating satirical "Xi Baozi" (a nickname for Xi Jinping, “Baozi” or “bun” in reference to Xi) works on social media, dressed as “Winnie the Pooh” (another nickname for Xi). He said they came to the Los Angeles Halloween scene to support the young people who were detained in Shanghai for participating in Halloween celebrations.
“They weren’t even dressing up as political figures, but since someone dressed as ‘Pooh’ last year and other political figures, the Chinese government has cracked down on Halloween celebrations. This year, they deployed police to prevent and block these activities. Today, besides celebrating the holiday, we also remember those in the ‘wall’ who cannot express themselves freely. We stand with freedom of expression, even if we are in different places, on different continents, even across the Pacific,” Fragile君 said.
Following the crackdown on Halloween in Shanghai, several young people were detained in Hangzhou on October 27 during Halloween activities. Videos circulated on the social platform X show people dressed as “Batman,” “zombies,” “T-800 Terminator,” “Fan Bingbing,” “Kim Kardashian,” “Trump,” “Lenin,” “Stalin,” and even “Buddha” being removed from the event by police.
Supporting Chinese Youth
The organizer of the Los Angeles Halloween event, Jielijian, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Democratic Party Joint Headquarters, dressed as a CCP police officer. He told Voice of America that he chose to play a police officer because they are the enforcers of the violent suppression of Halloween events in China. He believes that the police arresting young people for “cosplay” on Halloween reflects the shamelessness of authoritarianism. He said that young people in China demonstrated their desire for democracy and freedom through Halloween celebrations to the world.
“Today we support our friends in Shanghai, to tell the world that the shameless authoritarianism of the CCP must end. The light of our flashlights symbolizes that China doesn’t need darkness, but brightness and hope for tomorrow. This light of freedom will shine on China and on all those who suffer under communism,” Jielijian told Voice of America.
Zhao Guiling from Rizhao, Shandong, and her husband Mou Zongqiang dressed as a pair of Red Guards. They said they participated in the event mainly to support dissidents.
Zhao Guiling said, “Xi Jinping, you are China’s disgrace. You are a traitor, an executioner. We don’t want an emperor, we don’t want lies, we don’t want dictatorship. We want democracy, we want freedom, we want votes.”
Wang Han, a graduate student from the University of Southern California, dressed up as Xi Jinping himself. With a hint of irony, he told Voice of America, “I ‘admire’ him very much, and wanted to imitate his ‘Raise your hand if you disagree.’ I’d like to say, Mr. Xi Jinping, our great leader of humanity, not only all of China but the entire world should follow in the footsteps of Mr. Xi as we march toward the great rejuvenation.”
Yin Shuangmiao, who studied law in China and previously worked at a law firm in Shenzhen, played a CCP police officer at the event. She said, “Young people and ordinary citizens in China are like ‘ants in a prosperous age, and cannon fodder in times of chaos.’”
Wang Shijie, a 22-year-old university student from mainland China who participated in the “White Paper Movement” in Chengdu in 2022 and was interrogated twice by authorities, also dressed as “Winnie the Pooh.” He said he was there because he felt it was his duty. “Why am I here today? Because in ‘89, during June Fourth (Tiananmen Square protests), a man on a bicycle said, ‘I think this is my duty,’ so I am here today,” he told Voice of America.
Shiqingmei, Chairman of the Los Angeles branch of the Chinese Democracy and Human Rights Alliance, dressed as a “prisoner” in a labor camp uniform. She expressed that even though she is on the free land of America, her thoughts are with those imprisoned in China.
“In that huge prison called China, people with free minds cannot enjoy complete freedom. They are locked down, silenced, imprisoned, and even sent to mental hospitals. They have no freedom. Standing on this free land in America today, I want to tell them: The CCP must step down; its time is limited because it has lost the people’s support. It is a brutal, authoritarian government that goes against the course of world history and civilization, and it will inevitably fall,” Shiqingmei said.
Zhongwei Wang, founder of the Los Angeles Immigrant Support Association, wore a dragon robe to play an “emperor.” He explained that this costume symbolizes Xi Jinping’s obsession with wanting to wear the dragon robe.
“He wants to be the nation’s dictator, even dreaming of ruling the world. He wants a country without law, without freedom, where everyone’s rights are under his control… He doesn’t want to be a leader; he lacks the capability. He only wants to be a dictator, an emperor,” Wang Zhongwei told Voice of America.
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