life - Free hugs expected in Shanghai soon

Shanghaiist is expecting that China's free hug movement will arrive in Shanghai any moment. In an effort to end the coldness of our life, people in Xi'an, Beijing and Changsha started this effort to bring more love in our lives. It has not been a huge success yet, notes Shanghaiist:

They wear shirts and carry large signs that say things like "come and give me a hug," and while they attraction attention in public places, they haven't been all that successful -- in Xi'an, two hours of standing in a plaza in the cold only got them around 10 hugs and most of those were from children. Adults were either uninterested or embarrassed. One Mr. Li said that hugging was more of a foreign thing, not something that Chinese people do all that often. However, when several young Americans passed by and learned of what was happening they seemed rather nonplussed and didn't participate either.

In a nasty comment Shanghaiist suggests that the huggers were not hot enough to be successful. In Shanghai they would start charging for hugs, I expect, killing the movement as soon as it arrives.

Update: The movement might be over now four people have been arrested for free hugging, reports the Shanghai Daily. They successfully hugged several people at Wangfujing, including a foreigner, the report said.

An hour later, local police took them in for questioning because "they didn't have a permit from the proper authority." As well, "it might pose a negative social impact," police said.

What government department would give permissions for hugging?