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.
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.
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.