Slashdot Mirror
Chinese Government Sued Over Dog Height Censorship
Googling Yourself writes "More than 30,000 censors are employed in China to monitor the Internet, so it was no surprise when censors deleted a posting by Chen Yuhua protesting Beijing municipal government's regulations barring any dog over 14 inches high and restricting each family to only one dog. The surprise (reports the Washington Post) was when Chen studied China's civil code and marched into court with a lawsuit, only the second time that a Chinese citizen has gone to court over party censorship. 'I was very careful to follow the correct procedure,' Chen said in an interview, while pointing at the official legal manual on his dining room table. On December 14 Chen was told by clerks that the district court, after referring to higher-level judges for advice, had decided to reject the case. The next step, Chen said, is an appeal to the Supreme Court."
Chen must love his dog very much. Because my guess is that he's probably going to lose his life over this. Oh, maybe they won't find a way to put him in prison. Not as such. But I'm sure this old fellow is going to have, say, problems collecting his pension. Lost your paperwork, they'll say, so sorry - come back in six months and maybe we'll find it then.
In all seriousness, as a New York City resident, I would like to ask:
Why is it okay for a dog to piss on the sidewalk, but an arrestable offense when a human does the same? Seriously. No one has ever provided a good answer to this. Urine is sterile, and dog piss smells just as bad as human piss (asparagus aside).
I won't even get into the poop.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Indecent exspouser. Also on your logic you are smart enough to get hit by a car so go ahead chase that car.
Because dogs and humans are different.
No, seriously, I don't think it's the urine that's a problem. For instance, if I were to take 100mL of human urine in a sealed container outside and dump it, would there be a different set of laws broken than if it were 100mL of dog urine I was dumping? Essentially I believe it is the act of urination that is an arrestable offense, not the environmental contamination caused by the urine. The reason for that is it's definitely a social norm that one goes to the bathroom, well, in the bathroom, preferably in a toilet. Expecting all dogs to adhere to the same standards is unrealistic, and the law reflects that.
I can't believe I spent time thinking about this. . .
If you are about to mod me down, keep in mind that this post was most likely sarcastic.
It's going slow, but China is clearly getting more civilized in terms of human rights and rule of law etc.
I think it's not so much because the rulers are becoming better people, but a result of the enormous economic development and cultural exchange with the outside world. In other words due to trade. Money is power, and as regular Chinese start getting money they start getting power. It's an unstoppable process.
Two thoughts.
1. The Russian path of freeing up political life but not economical life has failed, while the opposite Chinese path seems incredibly productive.
2. The strategy to NOT trade with Cuba is an incredible mistake. With the opposite US policy, Cuba would probably be another Poland today.
Good Lord, you're judging Americans by what's posted on Slashdot? No darn wonder you're upset.
This is not the kind of thing that Chinese gov. will use a prison. Keep in mind that the gov. actually uses the prison rather sparingly. Once they decide to punish, they are harsh, but unless a real crime was committed or the gov is out to set examples for the west or local population, prison is not used. The guy is actually fighting against a very minor item, and more importantly, he is staying within the boundaries of that the gov. wants. As long as he does that, nothing official will happen (though he may be harasses a bit, nothing too bad).
Chinese gov. is a totalitarian, but they have a problem. They are a relatively small group of ppl in control over the largest single group of ppl. They know that if the ppl rise up, they will lose. Tiananmen showed that they could lose control, though at that time, there was no real threat. A big part of that was the dissatisfaction with poverty as well as no route for none party members to go. Since that time, the party has worked hard to provide opportunity paths for their citizens.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I'm not really trying to limit the degree to which you find it difficult to love and respect an entire nation of individual entities. Speaking as one tiny portion of the nation in question, I don't love you either, so you don't have to feel guilty about this odd difficulty you're having. Perhaps therapy would help you.
I guess we can now argue about whether the host is passing the buck onto the government, but there isn't much reason to not believe them. It isn't like the Chinese government isn't known for overreacting over online criticism.
From TFA again:Being the second to challenge the government of a state known to not take kindly to dissent is pretty bold. And based on Chen's resume he sounds like an educated guy. Want to debate about whether he's 1337 or not?Sounds like the Chinese government have made a good start to me. Now they just need to ban all dogs. Well, if that's the reason, then they might start by banning humans.
It is common practice for young children to pee or poop on the street in China. All the young children have special trousers/pants with a split between the legs that reaches all the way from back to front, such that it is almost like the trousers are actually two pieces joined at the belt. It looks relatively normal while walking, but opens up conveniently when squatting. If the child is too young to squat on their own, the parent can hold them up while they're in the squatting position, and just hold them near the ground.
You thought you were careful to avoid poop on the pavement(sidewalk). You're absolutely certain to in China.
Max.