Read more: Moscow spoilsports cancel St. Patrick’s Day parade
The Chinese authorities have begun a clampdown on activities by foreigners, including the Shanghai's St. Patrick's Day parade, as they are deemed threatening to political stability.
The authorities' decision to initiate the clampdown stemmed from an anonymous Internet campaign urging the people of China to emulate the protests and revolutions that have taken place across the Middle East in recent weeks.
Shanghai authorities have objected to the location of the annual St. Patrick's Day parade which was set to take place on March 12. Over 2,000 people were expected to congregate which pressurized the Irish organizations involved to cancel the event.
The St. Patrick's Day parade was set to take place on a major street near a cinema which had been mentioned in the anonymous Internet campaign. The campaign urged people to gather every Sunday to show their displeasure with the Chinese government.
The Irish consul general in Shanghai, Conor O’Riordan, said concerns over the parade came to a boil on Monday. The Chinese officials had agreed to allow the parade if they found a "more modest" route.
Unable to change the route at such short notice, they canceled the event. A volunteer-run organization will hold an invitation-only, indoor event instead.
Other events being planned by foreigners have also been canceled. One diplomat who spoke to the New York Times said, "We’ve noticed that a somewhat larger number of our cultural and educational programs around China are being postponed or canceled, but we haven’t been notified by Chinese authorities of any specific reason.”
Foreign journalists in Beijing and Shanghai have been dressed down on videotape. They have been warned that they broke reporting regulations, visiting locations that have been selected as protest sites on Internet postings. The journalists were warned that their visas and credentials would be revoked according to a report from the Foreign Correspondent's Club of China and the New York Times.
Officials in Beijing have announced that they intend to monitor the movement of 20 million Beijing residents through the signal transmitted by their cellphones. The officials said the move is an effort to track traffic and subway congestion, but the Chinese media believes this is so they can detect any possible protests of gatherings.
The activity in Tunisia, Egypt and across the Middle East has made Chinese officials nervous, and political activists have been treated particularly harshly. Four lawyers working on rights issues have disappeared, and at least 100 activists have been detained and many charged with crimes which could mean life sentences.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Dublinjas | Mar 12, 2011, 06:46 AM EST
Maybe this new Govt: might stop pandering to the Chinese,the fianna failures were just about to give them Westmeath as a free port employing only Chinese, before the hobnail boot was applied to their ass.........Stop Selling Off Ireland.
DrMallard | Mar 10, 2011, 11:39 PM EST
No surprise. After all, the Irish have always been lovers of freedom - just what the dictators of the so-called "People's Republic" of China deny to their own victims - er, citizens. Pathetic, really.
warrenpoint00 | Mar 09, 2011, 06:30 PM EST
This is soooooooooo wong
ronnie4u2o | Mar 09, 2011, 03:28 PM EST
ha ha ha Glory be & Saints preserve us . What else is China going to copy ??? Saint Patrick's Day now in China. What would Saint Patty think of that ? Time to Relax and have a pint or two @ Murphy's Pub .& cry in me pint
oldboreen | Mar 09, 2011, 10:51 AM EST
Jacersagain is on form!
cathyann | Mar 08, 2011, 07:27 PM EST
I think it very sad. Our world is so violent there is no room just to enjoy a fun filled day.
BrendanWalsh | Mar 08, 2011, 04:33 PM EST
Just shows all the business I do with China and even my girlfriend never told me this news, as with you tube and google and facebook , China's youth aren't connected to the Real Global market
jacersagain | Mar 07, 2011, 03:25 PM EST
In my local Irish bank the other day. A Chinese woman was at the forex counter. Suddenly she screamed and said “Whaaat? Why you give me two hunerd euro for yen last week and this week only hunerd and eighty?” The teller courteously leaned forward said quietly, as if under her breath, “Fluctuations”. The Chinese lady agrily turned away, waving her arms and stormed out screaming “Fluc you white people!” >>> Shanghai sure lost a lot of euro with this decision!
Irishviking | Mar 06, 2011, 02:41 PM EST
Well , why dont we ban the feckn chinky chonks new year celibrations next year in case there might be trouble at it ?? Ya right , the feckn spineless Irish government wouldnt have the nerve 2 do it !!
Shannonjackson | Mar 06, 2011, 09:44 AM EST
It's a nation led by paranoid leaders. Or, maybe their control isn't quite as tight as they were believing.
GeorgeDillon | Mar 06, 2011, 09:29 AM EST
torbreezy is sure Irish. He goes many thousands of miles in order to eat in an Irish bar. Bit like the Irish you see in Spain. They're surrounded by good Spanish food, but instead they spend their day boozing and eating burgers & fries in Paddy's Bar or the Rose & Crown.
Laura Wilson | Mar 05, 2011, 10:53 AM EST
Whooooooooooooooo fricken cares leave the Irish out of your mess of a country
antoman | Mar 05, 2011, 10:32 AM EST
You want to get rid of mice or rats you get a cat.You want to get rid of the cat you get a Chinese bloke.
CitizenWhy | Mar 05, 2011, 10:07 AM EST
Green is the color of both Islam and the Irish, so obviously there is some sort of conspiratorial connection between the two groups that the Chinese authorities, who much prefer red, must squelch.
Murph46 | Mar 05, 2011, 09:44 AM EST
Hmmm,first Russia ,now Shanghai! Startin to see a pattern here.I'm thinkin Chicago will be next!
BishopSean | Mar 05, 2011, 09:41 AM EST
And why would Chinese communists not be fearful of Irish power? They know Irish are freedom lovers and independent thinkers.
torbreezy | Mar 05, 2011, 09:29 AM EST
Let the record show that while we just returned from Beijing and Shanghai, we had nothing to do with this. Let the record further show that we enjoyed great lunches @ Patsy O'Shea's in Beijing and O'Malley's in Shanghai.