“Cosplay Banned: A Chinese-Style “Whole-Process” Halloween (Oct. 30–31, 2026)”
Since Shanghai’s Halloween celebrations in 2023, the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on Halloween events has intensified year by year, driven by fears that young people might use cosplay to express their discontent. In some cities, even cosplay with no political content has been banned or restricted. During Halloween 2026, large numbers of police were deployed in Shanghai, Hangzhou and elsewhere to prevent people from expressing themselves freely. Many cosplayers were driven away or arrested by police.
“Thousands of High School Students in Two Guangdong Schools Stage Collective ‘Uprising’: Charging Gates, Marching, and Kicking the Principal (2026.10.29)”
On the evening of October 29, thousands of students from two high schools in Guangdong Province launched protests on the same night out of dissatisfaction with unreasonable school rules and management.
At Longchuan County Experimental High School in Heyuan City, the campus suffered a power outage lasting several hours due to an equipment failure. A large crowd of students gathered at the school gates, chanting slogans like “Go home” and demanding to leave. A standoff ensued after school leaders refused to let them pass. Ultimately, the students forcibly climbed over the gates to leave the campus; during this time, some students kicked the school’s Party secretary and principal who were attempting to block them.
Later that same evening, a collective student protest also broke out at Gaoyao District No. 2 High School in Zhaoqing City. The incident was triggered by the principal’s order to turn off the air conditioning; the unbearable heat sparked intense frustration among the students, who collectively shouted from their dormitories demanding the school turn the AC back on. Afterward, a group of students forced open the dormitory doors and marched in circles around the campus for an extended period while chanting slogans.
“The ‘Chinese People’s’ Feelings Have Been ‘Hurt’—But They Don’t Know Why(2026.10.27)”
Mbappé never imagined that a casual remark he made months ago would suddenly “seriously hurt” the feelings of “the Chinese people” months later. Within just a few days, the mouthpieces of state media and online influencers launched a coordinated attack, publishing criticism en masse. Chinese brands including Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu announced one after another that they were ending their partnerships with him. CCTV also urgently suspended broadcasts of La Liga and all matches and advertisements involving him.
Offline, from subway stations in Shanghai to convenience stores in small towns in the southwest, giant ads featuring the French star’s face were abruptly covered up almost overnight, while products bearing his image were quickly pulled from shelves. Videos also circulated of some fans burning or throwing away their Mbappé jerseys. The feverish atmosphere made it feel as if the Cultural Revolution had returned.
Yet most of “the Chinese people” had no idea why their feelings had supposedly been “hurt.” Anyone who repeated Mbappé’s actual words was quickly blocked or deleted by the censorship system—or had their account shut down. The result was an absurd scene: criticism everywhere, while people were not allowed to know what was being criticized. On Chinese social media, countless people were asking the same question: “What exactly did Mbappé say?”
One user wrote: “They won’t even let us know what the guy said, but they still want us to join in and bite him. They really do take us for dogs.”
Zunhua Public School Teachers Block Education Bureau Gate to Demand Unpaid Wages (October 26, 2026)
On the evening of October 26, teachers from a public school in Zunhua, Tangshan, Hebei Province, blocked the west gate of the Zunhua Education Bureau. They were protesting together over wages the school had owed them for a long time.
Chengdu Construction Workers Besiege Languang Group Executive’s Villa to Demand Unpaid Wages (October 26, 2026)
On October 26, dozens of construction workers gathered at the gate of a Languang Group executive’s villa in the eastern section of Jinguan New Town, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and surrounded it. They demanded that he come out and settle the wages he owed them. This was the workers’ second protest this month. During the first protest on October 12, they briefly held two of the managers responsible for the unpaid wages.
Chinese Nationals Extorted by Police Across Africa and Asia; “Wolf Warrior Pass” Falls Flat (October 21–25, 2026)
Between October 21 and 25, several Chinese nationals in Africa and Southeast Asia went public, one after another, with accounts of local police singling them out for extortion. On October 21, a Chinese driver in Zimbabwe posted a video accusing local police of “only checking Chinese people’s cars.” The footage shows that Chinese drivers were also behind the wheel of the two other cars police had pulled over at the scene. The same day, a Chinese motorcyclist touring Laos posted a video complaining that local police “go after Chinese people.” He said he had to pay 300,000 Lao kip before they let him go. On October 22, a Chinese woman in Kenya said local police treat Chinese people as targets for extortion. Officers locked her inside a car, seized her passport, and extorted 5,000 shillings from her. On October 25, a Chinese man in Nigeria said that in April, police at an airport locked him in a “little black room” for two hours after he refused to pay a 10,000-naira “tip.” These incidents make a well-known remark by Wolf Warrior star Wu Jing ring especially hollow: “A Chinese face and a Chinese passport are your pass to the safest places in the world.”
Tang County Hospital Patient Dies After Hemorrhoid Surgery; Security Uses Fire Extinguishers on Family Seeking Answers (October 23, 2026)
On October 23, a confrontation broke out between hospital staff and a patient’s family at the Tang County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Baoding, Hebei Province. A man had died after undergoing surgery for hemorrhoids (an anal fistula), and when his family went to the hospital to demand an explanation, hospital security guards drove them away with fire extinguishers. According to the family, the man checked into the hospital for surgery on October 9, and all of his pre-operative tests came back normal. On October 12, he told a nurse that his leg hurt, but the nurse brushed off his complaint as being caused by “the cold weather.” She neither reported it nor entered it in the nursing records, and the fatal blood clot went undetected for six more days. On the morning of October 18, doctors diagnosed him with a high-risk blood clot. Despite the danger, a doctor claimed his condition was “stable,” and that evening staff even let him get out of bed and walk to the bathroom on his own. He died suddenly. This is reportedly the second death of a patient following hemorrhoid surgery at the hospital in two years.
“Scenic Area Profits at the Public’s Expense; Clash Erupts at Wuhan’s ‘Red Wall’ (2026.10.24)”
On October 24, a clash broke out at the “Red Wall,” a popular photo spot at Wuhan’s Yellow Crane Tower scenic area. Several independent photographers were forcibly removed by security guards. The dispute reportedly began after scenic-area management contracted the Red Wall photo spots to a commercial company for exclusive operation, leaving independent photographers facing a complete eviction.
Under the new rules, photographers who want to continue taking clients there must sign a contract with the company and pay a 10,000-yuan deposit. The company sets the prices and takes a substantial 25 to 35 percent cut from each booking. The photographers refused to accept the commission and continued working at the site. The contractor then sent security guards to forcibly drive them out. Some online commenters say that, under the pretext of “standardized management,” scenic-area management outsourced a previously free public photo spot and is using the “front company” to extract “protection money” from independent photographers.
“Viral Traffic Light Pole from Shaanxi AITO M9 Crash Is Fenced Off (2026.10.23)”
On October 23, a traffic signal pole in Shenmu, Shaanxi, unexpectedly went viral after an AITO M9 crashed into it with such force that the pole appeared “unscathed.” The pole was suddenly screened off by local authorities. On October 17, an AITO M9 crashed into the pole in Shenmu. The vehicle caught fire immediately afterward, and the driver was killed. In an official statement, AITO said the fire was caused by “a severe impact to the vehicle’s engine compartment at high speed, which led to a short circuit and fluid leaks.” It also described online claims of a “battery explosion” and a crash caused by the assisted-driving system as false. The statement immediately prompted widespread public skepticism online. Many local residents went to the site to photograph the pole.
“Beijing Subway Security Checks Cause Long Delays, as CCP Meeting Wastes Public Time and Money (2026.10.22–23)”
On October 22 and 23, ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s Fifth Plenum, Beijing suddenly tightened security checks at subway stations. The cumbersome screening procedures led to overcrowding and long lines at entrances across the city. At Fuxingmen Station, the line stretched for several hundred meters, and commuters waited an average of more than half an hour to enter. These costly, burdensome measures to maintain “stability” expose the deep insecurity of a dictator who sees everyone as an enemy.
