China fact of the day, once more

In Beijing, dogs are not allowed outside in the daytime; those caught outdoors are confiscated and killed. They are not allowed in parks, on grass or on elevators – even when elderly owners live on the 14th floor. They may not grow taller than knee-high, on pain of death. And licenses are expensive.

The predictable result: many dogs never go outside. Thousands are confiscated each year for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or growing a little too big. In the back alleys, where the police can’t drive, families flout the law and play with their pets outside during the day. In fancier parts of town or near any major street, nobody dares.

Now The New York Times goes out on a limb:

Many dog owners are seething, even as their pets suffer…Matters like this, as much as censorship of the press and the jailing of dissidents, may determine the fate of the Communist Party.

Here is an article on new dog regulations in China. The yearly registration fee used to start at $600 for the first year, now it is $121, read here. Here is a Chinese “man bites dog” story (seriously). Here is an article on dog deregulation in southern China.