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China Extends Holidays in May

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Source:amp.ft.com

National holidays are usually set well in advance. So when Beijing abruptly announced an extra three days of official holidays in early May, schools and businesses had to scramble to accommodate the new schedule. 

The sudden change is just one of the measures the Chinese capital has taken to make sure no untoward gatherings are held to mark the 100th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, which spurred the modernisation of Chinese politics and society.

Songs have been taken off music streaming platforms and controls on academics tightened ahead of the two anniversaries. To prevent any possible unrest, China extended the May 1 national holiday from one day to three days in the hope that many residents take vacation outside the capital.

“Both anniversaries are still very relevant today. The Chinese are big on anniversaries and the centennial of the May 4th Movement is a big deal indeed,” said Kin-ming Liu, a senior Hong Kong-based journalist and editor. The ruling Communist party could take pride in the fact China had become a global power, as May 4 students had wished, he noted, and the country had avoided a Soviet Union-style meltdown.



The Communist party regards itself as the natural heir to the May 4 movement, in which students demonstrated for a strong China that could stand up for itself on the international stage against colonial powers.

“Anniversaries, especially of events that the authorities see as worth marking, are important because they can open up space for gatherings and for discussions of the past that can easily incorporate criticisms of the present,” said Jeffrey Wasserstrom, professor of Chinese history at University of California, Irvine.

“A central conundrum of today’s China is that the authorities seem to have things well under control, yet remain twitchy [about any potential for discontent],” he added. 



Last month, the prestigious Peking University summoned its professors for a lecture on “tightening up the Communist party’s management and strengthening the faculty’s moral construction”


The nervousness has spread to popular culture, with Apple Music and Tencent’s QQ removing songs that reference student demonstrations from their streaming services. Apple declined to comment. 

At least one musician’s fans are fighting back. Last week, after singer Li Zhi's social media account was wiped out and his ballads removed from streaming services, devoted netizens changed their profile photo to his in a subtle protest.


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