Beijing imposes tight measures for another Covid new year as blackface row erupts over celebrations

The coronavirus pandemic has forced people in China to change their Chinese new year traditions for the second year in a row and for some, the occasion is a sad reminder that someone is missing at their dinner tables for another year, reports William Yang

Local governments offered perks like free phone data and online films to entice those who choose to stay where they work for the holiday (AFP/ Getty)

As Chinese-speaking communities across the world welcome the “Year of the Ox,” a lot seems to be missing from this year’s Chinese new year celebration. China is trying to prevent the coronavirus outbreak from spinning out of control for the second year in a row.

Usually, the Chinese new year holiday marks the largest long-distance migration of the year in China, as hundreds of millions of people travel thousands of miles to go home and celebrate the special holiday with families.

However, as China witnessed another wave of coronavirus resurgence over the last few weeks, the government issued notifications to encourage Chinese citizens not to travel back home for the holiday this year.

In some cases, local governments offered perks like free phone data and online films to entice those who choose to stay where they work for the holiday, while cities like Beijing imposed strict quarantine and testing rules to prevent large numbers of people from entering the city.

During the annual gala show on China’s state broadcaster CCTV, a performance featuring dancers made up in blackface to look like Africans drew widespread criticism again. Organisations for Africans in China called on Beijing to end the practice and hire thousands of Africans living in China to perform instead.

“While supporters of the practice allege that blackface centres on empathy and realism, it’s difficult to disassociate it from a long history of minstrelsy and fixation on problematic caricatures,” wrote the activist group Black China Caucus on Twitter.

“Next year, we hope organisers decide to end this practice and hire some of thousands of Black people living in many parts of China.”

In the southern industrial hub of Shenzhen, factories and hospitals asked employees not to leave the city for the Chinese new year holiday. In fact, only those who could prove they had urgent matters back home to take care of were permitted to leave the city during the long holiday.

“The only case for Chinese citizens to be allowed to leave Shenzhen during the holiday is if someone in their family has passed away,” says Chen Zijuan, a hospital employee and wife of detained Chinese human rights lawyer Chang Wei-ping.

Liu Yuting watches the lunar new year gala after dinner with her family in Beijing (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

“Most people around me choose to celebrate this year’s Chinese new year in a low-key style, and I haven’t heard of any large-scale celebration in the city. Usually, shopping malls in China would put up extravagant decorations to welcome the new year, but this year, none of that can be seen across Shenzhen.”

In the country’s capital Beijing, the government deployed strict quarantine and testing measures to deter large numbers of Chinese citizens from travelling in and out of the city.

“Beijing requires anyone who wants to enter the city to provide a nucleic acid testing result from within a week, and those who can’t provide the proof will be stopped from entering Beijing at the train station,” says Xu Yan, a Beijing resident and wife of detained Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng.

Despite the tight measures, Beijing is giving out coupons worth 40 million yuan ($6.2m) to residents who followed the government’s order of “staying put” during the Chinese new year holiday, according to state media.

Official statistics seem to suggest a sharp decrease in all kinds of travel. According to Beijing’s transport committee, air and rail travel was down more than 80 percent, while road traffic dropped by nearly a third. Train stations across Beijing were reportedly emptier than previous years, with almost no passengers lining up to buy tickets.

Elaborate new year celebrations are missing this year in China (Reuters)

In Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first began last year, residents say the vibe of new year celebrations returned despite companies cancelling large year-end dinners that would usually gather thousands of people in one large space.

“The fear extending from last year’s pandemic is still there, so most elderlies in Wuhan have chosen not to attend any public gathering that they would normally go to before last year’s pandemic,” says Wuhan resident Lin.

“After major cities like Beijing and Shanghai reported new coronavirus outbreaks in January, Wuhan immediately enforced strict rules to curb the spread of the virus. Authorities would ask people returning from medium-risk areas to quarantine at a centralised location.”

For most people in China, the new year is an occasion to reunite with family and celebrate the past year. However, for Xu Yan and Chen Zijuan, Chinese new year is another occasion that reminded them of the fact that someone will be missing at their dinner tables for another year. Xu and Chen’s husbands are prominent human rights lawyers in China, but both have been detained by the Chinese government for demanding improvements in the country’s rule of law.

“I still don’t know where he is detained and I’m worried about his health and safety,” Chen tells the Independent. “He has been tortured once during the residential surveillance at a designated location last year and I’m terrified to think about what he might go through this time.”

As for Xu, her husband Yu Wenseng has not been able to join their family dinner on Chinese new year’s eve for four years in a row. “This is a sad and depressing thing for me and my son,” Xu tells the Independent. “When my husband was home, he used to take us back to his hometown and celebrate the new year with his parents. But since his detention, I haven’t been able to repeat the tradition as I’m afraid his parents might be sad about the fact that their son isn’t joining them this year.”

People burn incense sticks and pray at Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai (EPA)

Despite his ongoing absence from family gatherings, Xu was informed on Wednesday, which was also the Chinese new year’s eve, that Yu Wensheng has been awarded the 2021 Martin Ennals Award, a prestigious human rights award dedicated to human rights defenders around the world.

“I’m very excited about the great news and I hope my husband can live up to the responsibilities that come with this award,” Xu says. “I hope the news of my husband winning the Martin Ennals Award can encourage other human rights lawyers and human rights defenders in China as they continue to resist the Chinese government’s growing crackdown. For the coming year, I hope Beijing can treat Yu and other human rights lawyers with dignity and I hope there will soon be real progress in China’s rule of law and human rights.”