BEIJING – Chinese state television featured dancers in blackface portraying Africans on a national broadcast, while Asia welcomed the lunar year of Ox Friday with subdued festivities amid travel restrictions to stem new coronavirus outbreaks.
The show “African Song and Dance” took place at the start of the Spring Festival Gala, or “Chunwan”, one of the world’s most watched TV programs. It included Chinese dancers in African-style costumes and dark make-up on drums.
The five-hour annual program, which state television has said in the past to be watched by as many as 800 million people, also included tributes to nurses, doctors and others who fought the coronavirus pandemic that started in central China in late 2019.
The ruling Communist Party of China is trying to promote an image of unity with African countries as fellow emerging economies. But state broadcaster China Central Television has been criticized for its use of blackface to portray African people in previous New Year’s broadcasts.
On Twitter, Black Livity China, a group for people of African descent working in or with China called the broadcast “extremely disappointing”. It featured CCTV’s 2018 Spring Festival Gala, featuring performers in blackface with a monkey.
“We cannot overemphasize the impact scenes like this have on African and Afro-diaspora communities in China,” the group said.
Holidays before the holiday, normally East Asia’s busiest tourist season, are being muted after China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments tightened travel restrictions and urged the public to avoid large gatherings following renewed virus outbreaks.
Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Taoist temples that are usually packed with vacationers were closed. Streets in big cities were mostly empty.
Visitors gathered outside the locked gates of the Lama Temple on the north side of Beijing to burn incense and pray.
Ji Jianping, who wore a coat and red face mask, the traditional color of happiness, said she and her family had skipped a visit to their hometown in northern Shanxi province because of the pandemic.
“I wish for safety and health, but also happiness for my family,” said Ji, 62.
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China’s appeal to the public to avoid travel is reducing spending on tourism and gifts. But economists say the overall impact could be limited if factories and stores continue to run rather than take their usual two-week break.
The Commerce Department said it had found 48 million more people in Chinese cities who wanted to celebrate where they live instead of traveling. Departures from Beijing’s two major airports were also 75 percent lower on Wednesday than last year, the Chinese capital’s government said.