As Hong Kong parties in a blaze of fireworks, New Year’s Eve celebrations muted across China amid security fears
There was a muted feel to New Year celebrations in many mainland cities, as the nation reflected on a year with its share of tragedies, and authorities took a cautious approach amid rising security concerns.
At venues across the country, events were cancelled, or security tightened, though official celebrations went ahead in Beijing.
The central government would continue to support One Country, Two Systems and the prosperity of Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping told the New Year tea gathering of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
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In a separate, televised, address, he said China would continue to build diplomatic relations and implement reform.
He referred to several disasters that took place in 2015, including the explosions at a Tianjin warehouse in August, the Shenzhen landslide in December, and numerous terrorist incidents across the country, pledging the government would ensure public safety and protect the assets of Chinese people.
About 1,000 guests attended the official New Year’s Eve celebration near Beijing’s Forbidden City, while the iconic Bird’s Nest staged a gala.
But a countdown event at the China Millennium Monument in the Beijing World Art Museum was called off because it failed to obtain approval from the city’s public security authority, the Legal Evening News reported.
The Place, a shopping mall featuring a giant LED screen on its roof in Beijing’s central business district, said there would be no festive activities on New Year’s Eve and all shops would close at 10pm as usual.
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Such a low-key approach was disappointing for Nancy, a tourist travelling with her family from Namibia. “We were expecting a festive atmosphere in Beijing where people would join together to count down like other countries in the world,” she said. “But as it seems unlikely to happen, we may have to go back to our hotel earlier than planned.”
Armed police patrolled the streets in Sanlitun, a popular bar and shopping area, where security was stepped up after warnings by five foreign embassies – the US, British, French, Canadian and Australian – of threats against Westerners on Christmas Eve.
A vendor in Sanlitun said the mall would be closed as usual. “A huge crowd is now a big concern to safety after the Shanghai stampede last year, especially in popular sites as Sanlitun,” she said. “We don’t have an option.”
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In Shanghai, police beefed up security in the city’s highest-profile sites as local authorities scrapped all but one of the traditional major celebrations following the stampede on The Bund that killed 36 people.
Watch: New Year stampede kills dozens in Shanghai
Public security officers and armed police, including SWAT teams and other special forces, were sent to both The Bund and the entertainment district of Xintiandi, where Shanghai’s lone major celebration took place, in a park, limited to 4,800 participants.
Roads and subway stations that lead to The Bund were temporarily closed.
Officials said no commemoration of the stampede tragedy was planned and no New Year events would be held on The Bund.
In Shenzhen, celebrations were low profile in the aftermath of the massive landslide that has left dozens of people still missing.
In Hong Kong, Times Square scrapped its countdown for the second time in two years. Before last year’s cancellation the mall had celebrated by dropping a ball from a 22-metre LED tower at midnight every year since 1993.
Additional reporting by Jessie Lau
