BEIJING (AP) – Chinese state TV has included black-faced dancers depicting Africans during a national broadcast, while Asia welcomed the lunar year of the ox with raging festivities on Friday amid travel routes to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
The “African Song and Dance” performance on Thursday kicked off at the start of the Spring Festival Gala, one of the world’s most watched TV shows. It included Chinese dancers in African-style costumes and a dark face makeup that hit drums.
The five-hour annual program, which has been watched by as many as 800 million viewers in the past, according to state TV, also pays tribute to nurses, doctors and others who fought the coronavirus pandemic that began late in central China. included.
Holidays for the holidays, usually the busiest tourist season in East Asia, are dampened after China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments sharpened the curbs and urged the public to avoid large gatherings after renewed virus outbreaks.
China’s ruling Communist Party seeks to promote an image of unity with African countries as co-developing economies. However, state broadcaster China Central Television has been criticized for using blackface to portray African people in recent New Year broadcasts.
On Twitter, Black Livity China, a group of people of African descent who work in or with China, called the broadcast “extremely disappointing”. It was noted that during the 2018 Spring Festival Gala, CCTV featured artists in black face with a monkey.
“We cannot have enough impact on the impact scenes like this on African and Afro-diasporic communities living in China,” the group said.
Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Daoist temples that were usually full of holiday worshipers were closed. Streets in big cities were largely empty.
Visitors gathered outside the closed gates of the Tibetan-style Lama Temple on the north side of Beijing to burn incense and pray.
Ji Jianping, who wore a jacket and face mask in red, the traditional happiness color, said she and her family visited the hometown in the northern province of Shanxi due to the pandemic.
“I wish for safety and health, as well as happiness for my family,” Ji, 62, said.
The government’s appeal to China’s public to avoid travel is spending on tourism and gifts. However, economists say the overall impact could be limited if factories, shops and factories continue to operate instead of taking their usual two-week break.
The Ministry of Trade said that 48 million more people in Chinese cities planned to celebrate where they live instead of traveling. The Chinese capital’s government has reported that the two major airports in Beijing are 75% lower than last year.
In Taiwan, retailers said sales rose 10% -20% this year as Taiwanese celebrated at home with family dinners instead of abroad.
‘Businesses this year are good. We have even more people, ”said a sausage seller in the capital, Taipei, who would only give his surname, Tsai. “People stay home and prepare food for the year-end dinner to share with friends and family.”
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AP video journalist Caroline Chen in Beijing and journalist Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.