BEIJING (AP) – Dancers were involved in the role of Africans on Blackface during a national broadcast on Chinese state TV as Asia greeted the Lunar New Year with a holy feast on Friday, including a renewed coronavirus outbreak.
One of the world’s most-watched TV programs, “African Song and Dance,” kicked off on Thursday at the start of the Spring Festival Gala. It includes Chinese dancers in African style costumes and dark face makeup beating drums.
In the past, state TV has reported that the five-hour annual program has been viewed by about 800 million viewers, including tributes to nurses, doctors and others who fought the coronavirus epidemic that began in central China in late 2019.
He urged people to avoid large gatherings after strict travel measures were imposed by China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments and after the holiday virus broke out.
China’s ruling Communist Party seeks to promote the image of unity with African countries as an ally developing economy. But state broadcaster China Central Television has faced criticism over its use of Blackface to portray Africans in New Year’s broadcasts.
On Twitter, Black Levity China, a group of people of African descent who work in or with China, called the broadcast “extremely frustrating.” It features performances of artists in blackface with monkeys at CCTV’s 2018 Spring Festival Gala.
“We cannot stress this kind of impact on the African and Afro-diasporic communities living in China,” the group said.
Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Daoist temples that are usually full of holiday worshipers have closed. In the big cities the streets were largely empty.
Visitors gathered outside the locked doors of the Tibetan-style Lama Temple on the north side of Beijing to burn incense and pray.
Wearing a red jacket and face mask, Xi Jinping said the traditional color of good luck, he and his family had stopped visiting his hometown in the northern province of Shanxi due to the epidemic.
62, GA said, “I wish you safety and health as well as happiness for my family.”
The government’s appeal to the Chinese public to avoid travel is that it spends on tourism and gifts. But economists say the overall impact could be limited if factories, shops and factories continue operating instead of taking their usual two-week break.
The Commerce Ministry said it found 48 million people planning to celebrate where they live instead of traveling to Chinese cities. Departures from Beijing’s two major airports on Wednesday were down %%% from last year, according to a report from the Chinese capital’s government.
In Taiwan, merchants said sales have increased 10% -20% this year as Taiwan celebrates with domestic dinners instead of traveling abroad.
“Business is good this year. “We have more people,” said a sausage seller in the capital, Taipei, who would only give his surname Tsai. “People stay home and prepare meals for end-of-the-year dinners to share with friends and family.”
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Caroline Chen, an AP video journalist in Beijing, and Taizing Wu, a journalist in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to the report.
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