October 30 was the last trading day of October. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.44%, the Shenzhen Component Index fell 2.73%, the ChiNext Index fell 4.13%, and the STAR 50 Index fell 5.48%. Over 4,600 stocks across the market declined. For the month, the ChiNext Index fell by a cumulative 23.02%, and the STAR 50 Index fell by 24.13%.
From the night of October 30 to November 3, Shanghai strengthened security in former Halloween gathering areas such as Julu Road, Middle Huaihai Road, and Fuxing Park. Fuxing Park suspended some amusement facilities citing maintenance of lighting equipment, while iron barricades were placed on the streets and large numbers of police were deployed.
On October 30, the U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP released a video exposing Mao Zedong as a CCP dictator whose policies caused one of the deadliest famines in history.
On October 30, during Halloween in Shanghai, police were heavily deployed in areas such as Julu Road, Yuyuan Road, and Fuxing Park. Shops had no decorations, and netizens posted that the intersections were full of police, claiming that anyone who dared to dress up would be arrested.
On October 30, near Changle Road and Julu Road in Shanghai, people dressed in Halloween costumes were taken away by police for questioning, required to remove their makeup, register their ID cards, and have their photos taken for records. Outdoor venues such as open-air bars were also strictly prohibited from allowing costumes.
On October 30, German President Steinmeier held talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing, emphasizing that China should play a role in maintaining the international order based on the UN Charter, and that both China and Germany bear this responsibility.
On October 30, the US Department of Justice announced that two Chinese men who conducted clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) were each sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty, followed by three years of supervised release. The two had assisted in identifying recruitable US military personnel and, in January 2022, arranged for individuals within the US to drop off approximately $10,000 in cash via a dead drop in a storage locker.
On October 30, French MP and presidential candidate François Ruffin, in an interview with BFMTV/RMC, criticized the influence of Chinese capitalism and nationalism while discussing the Mbappé controversy. He explicitly stated that Mao Zedong was a dictator who established authoritarian rule, and the deaths of millions of Chinese people caused by his rule cannot be excused.
On October 30, China and Switzerland signed the protocol on upgrading their free trade agreement along with a complementary labor cooperation agreement. The agreement stipulates that neither side shall lower labor protection standards to promote trade and investment, must guarantee channels for handling labor rights violations, and respect freedom of association and collective bargaining. It will take effect after domestic approval by both sides.
On October 30, state media reported that the Ministry of Civil Affairs recently released its first comprehensive "Social Organization Cancellation Guide," providing an exit pathway for zombie and voluntarily dissolved social organizations, which officials described as a waste of resources and a hidden risk.
On October 30, the Henan Provincial Public Resource Trading Center released a public tender announcement for the Henan Provincial People's Hospital. The procurement list includes 1 Xinchuang anti-circumvention security gateway and 2 internet behavior management devices, with a total package budget of 2.2 million yuan, covering firewalls, vulnerability scanning equipment, and supporting services.
On October 30, the owner of the 'Jiudao Geng Quan Niu Yan' restaurant in Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, stated that police officers came to the premises and used chains to lock and secure their kitchen knives, adding that they heard this control measure was being implemented throughout the local community.
The Education and Sports Bureau of Changyuan City, Xinxiang, Henan Province, issued a document requiring all middle schools to achieve an HPV vaccination rate of over 80% by November 20. The bureau will rank schools based on their vaccination rates, and the principals of the bottom three schools will be summoned for talks by bureau leaders. Vaccination sites are operating 24 hours a day. Parents in many places have reported being pressured by homeroom teachers and principals.
On October 30, the U.S. network analysis firm Graphika released a report stating that the China-linked "Spamouflage" network used X accounts to impersonate U.S. voters, spreading politically divisive content ahead of the midterm elections and questioning the integrity of U.S. elections; the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. denied interfering in U.S. elections.
On October 30, Finnish police announced an investigation into a case of suspected labor trafficking of Chinese workers, arresting 9 people, with 4 held in custody. The case involves a battery material plant construction site in Kotka, a Finnish labor dispatch company, and a Chinese employer. Previously, Yle revealed that workers were required to return wages exceeding a lump-sum salary, with harsh breach-of-contract clauses.
A member of a Chinese government delegation was detained by Swedish police from October 29 to 30 for allegedly photographing Sweden's defense research agency and armed forces headquarters, and was remanded in custody by a court.
On October 30, the School of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data at Hefei University published the 2026 version of its student handbook on its official website. It lists unauthorized use of non-statutory channels for international internet access as a separate disciplinary offense, grouped with the dissemination of computer viruses. Depending on the severity, students may face a serious warning or higher, with a 6-month disciplinary period recorded in their files. Students receiving such disciplinary action will also lose their eligibility for scholarships.
On the evening of October 30, a large number of students at the Gaoyao School of Zhaoqing Gaoyao District Shimen Middle School (Group) (Gaoyao No. 2 Middle School) gathered in their dormitories to demand that the school turn on the air conditioning. The humidity that night reached over 90%, making it feel stiflingly hot.
Shanghai rights activist Shen Yanqiu claims her family was harassed and intimidated by outsourced personnel posing as staff from the neighborhood Public Security Office, and that the individuals were released after she called the police.
User Cyberxinfang posted a documentary article with footage of petitioners 'entering the village' in Beijing, China, recently, recording the gathering of petitioners and the on-site stability maintenance situation.
On October 30, Havana continued to post on X, using German Nazi history to warn against extreme nationalism and criticizing the use of "patriotism" as a requirement to conduct political censorship on others as the beginning of anti-democracy.
An employee of Quanzhou Hongxing Building Materials Co., Ltd. suffered a hand injury while operating machinery during work hours. The company is unwilling to report the work-related injury to the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, instead pressuring the employee to use personal medical insurance for treatment, refusing to conduct a labor capacity assessment, ignoring potential long-term complications, and offering only a small amount of private compensation.
On the afternoon of October 30, Sina Securities posted on Weibo that the three major indices had all turned red. The topic "A-shares pulled up in the afternoon" trended on search, sparking mockery from netizens.
On October 30, a netizen posted that after sharing a photo on WeChat Moments of a "Bushuila" drink featuring a portrait of Kylian Mbappé, all social functions of their account were temporarily restricted four minutes later.
After Mbappe became embroiled in a controversy over 'insulting China' due to a Mao Zedong meme, some Douyin users created a 'Mbappe on Sports Hydration' meme modeled after the cover of 'Xi Jinping: The Governance of China', accompanied by 'anti-Mao' music, with the comment section using famine memes to mock Mao Zedong.
A netizen reported that the "Mbappe Fan Group" on Xiaohongshu, which had 452,000 members, is now showing as disabled, with no activity visible, suspected to have been banned by the platform.
A Xiaozhou (RedNote) user posted that after resigning from a well-known listed company following nearly a year of employment, the HR manager demanded a 50/50 split of the approved one-time talent subsidy, with the repayment to be made to the company's account, threatening to return the funds to the government if the user refused.
On October 30, the comment section of a Douyin post for the 'Hydrate-La' (Bu Shui La) drink endorsed by Mbappe saw comments supporting Mbappe and questioning the boycott, such as 'I'll hate whoever you tell me to' and 'Who should I hate today?'. Other netizens changed the product name to 'Hydrate-Lard' (Bu Shui La) as a satirical jab.
On October 30, at Hubin Intime in77 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a netizen cosplaying Ultraman Tiga was taken away by several patrol police officers.
On October 30, at Hubin Intime In77 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, several young people participating in a Halloween cosplay event were loudly berated by an elderly man on-site, who shouted, "Celebrating a foreign holiday on Chinese soil, you bunch of traitors."
On October 30, a Meituan delivery rider posted a video of an on-site reconciliation with a merchant: for a 279-yuan order, the rider's delivery fee was only 3 yuan, while the merchant's backend showed a deduction of 35.69 yuan for delivery service fees, with the actual amount received being about 205 yuan. Netizens questioned the platform for taking cuts from both sides.
On October 30, the official TBS website continued to update promotional information for Season 2 of "VIVANT". The plot page still indicated that Episode 23 will air on November 1, failing to respond to CCTV's suspension request.
On October 30, Beijing nightclub PILLBOX issued an entry notice stating that due to on-site safety and comprehensive technical reasons, themed costumes, cosplay, masks, and headgear are prohibited. Any form of Halloween activity is banned both inside and outside the venue, and those who do not comply will be denied entry. Another nightclub, DADA, also reminded customers not to wear Halloween outfits.
On October 30, uniformed personnel wearing "anti-fraud" armbands were seen patrolling in front of multiple shops in Shenzhen. The intensity of the patrols has increased compared to the past, and netizens have submitted photos documenting the scene.
On October 30, The Diplomat published a commentary noting that after Kylian Mbappé referred to Mao Zedong as a dictator, he, Real Madrid, and La Liga issued successive apologies. This demonstrates that commercial pressure from the Chinese market is constraining overseas speech, and companies may be proactively enforcing political boundaries.
On October 30, the WeChat video account of the General Office of the Inner Mongolia Government released a video on Xi Jinping's Party building ideology, stating that the first criterion for selecting outstanding young cadres is whether they are loyal to the Party and preventing 'political two-faced people.' In the comments section, many netizens emphasized loyalty to the people and putting the people first.
On the evening of October 30, the Chinese Embassy in Spain issued a statement opposing the motion related to Xinjiang passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Catalonia, Spain. The embassy described the motion as full of absurdities and a gross interference in China's internal affairs, expressing strong indignation and firm opposition.
On October 30, multiple coal miners at Chuxin Mining in Bijie City, Guizhou Province, clashed during a demand for unpaid wages, leaving one person collapsed on the ground.
On October 30, the Associated Press cited analyses from multiple scholars, stating that stricter disciplinary constraints may make officials more cautious and unwilling to take initiative, or even lead them to demonstrate obedience through meetings and training without taking any actual action.
On October 30, the front pages of 12 newspapers, including the People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, China Youth Daily, Nanfang Daily, and Hubei Daily, were highly identical. All featured the holding of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee in Beijing as the headline, accompanied by the same set of photos of Xi Jinping speaking and a panoramic view of the meeting, along with extensive coverage of the plenary session communique.
On October 30, Spanish media including '20 Minutos' reported that former Chinese national football team coach Camacho, while discussing the Mbappe controversy on COPE radio, stated that the Chinese side always demanded he adapt to their rules and ways of doing things, believing they are the masters of the world in all aspects.
On October 30, the state media outlet ZJSTV released a video naming Suntory, Kao, Subaru, and their collaboration or sponsorship relationship with the Japanese drama "VIVANT," accusing these brands of earning money in China while sponsoring a Japanese drama that distorts history.
On October 30, the official Bilibili account of China News Service reposted a People's Daily video commentary on pensions regarding young people being unable to afford to support the elderly. A large number of netizens refuted this through comments and bullet comments, stating that they can barely support themselves and questioning whether state media is manufacturing or avoiding anxiety about retirement.
On October 30, Huang Jianfa, Deputy Head of the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee, stated that the CCP has over 100 million members and more than 5.4 million grassroots party organizations, which is a powerful advantage that no other political party in the world possesses.
On October 30, an investor released a video regarding the controversy over Kylian Mbappé memes, announcing that they would resolutely refuse to watch any matches featuring Mbappé in the future, stating that the Chinese people will not forgive him; netizens in the comment section mocked the statement using memes such as the 'toasting' joke.
On October 30, the government of Beilin District, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, reported that a man surnamed Jiang, born in 2004, requested to leave the military multiple times after enlisting in March this year because he could not adapt to military life. He was dismissed on April 24, fined 61,051 yuan, had his household registration permanently marked for refusing military service, was banned from further education or traveling abroad for two years, was barred from being hired as a public servant, and was placed on the list of serious defaulters of national defense obligations.
On October 30, the Hong Kong branch of China Merchants Bank issued a notice stating that, effective from 4:00 PM on November 30, it will suspend bank-securities transfer services with Soochow Securities International and China Merchants Securities International until further notice, without providing reasons or a resumption date.
On October 30, Cang Bai, the male partner of gay singer Wu En, posted to announce Wu En's passing, and the news topped the Weibo trending list. Wu En had been battling stomach cancer for nearly seven years, and the two had taken turns undergoing chemotherapy and caring for each other.
Bandao Morning Post modified its report on the death of Wu En multiple times: first writing "his partner Cang Bai," then changing it to "she," then to "their," and finally deleting the word "partner" entirely. After being questioned by netizens, the newspaper deleted the Weibo post.
Late on the night of October 30, outside a public toilet at a street food market in Pattaya, Thailand, five Chinese men left a mess after using the restroom while drinking, refused to pay a 150-baht cleaning fee, and got into a physical altercation with the manager. The Chinese side grew to seven or eight people who surrounded and beat the manager, while a Thai individual fought back with a modified BB gun, causing head injuries to two Chinese men. Police took away five Chinese men and two Thais and confiscated the firearm. The Chinese men paid fines to conclude the investigation, and the armed Thai was released on bail pending further investigation.