Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BEIJING24267
2006-12-04 09:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

NEW DOG RULES UNLEASH EMOTIONAL DEBATE IN BEIJING

Tags:  PGOV PHUM KCUL SOCI CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5117
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #4267/01 3380929
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 040929Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2706
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 024267 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL SOCI CH
SUBJECT: NEW DOG RULES UNLEASH EMOTIONAL DEBATE IN BEIJING

Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief Susan A. Thornton.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 024267

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2031
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL SOCI CH
SUBJECT: NEW DOG RULES UNLEASH EMOTIONAL DEBATE IN BEIJING

Classified By: Political Section Internal Unit Chief Susan A. Thornton.
Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Debate about Beijing's new rules limiting
households to one dog and outlawing "big and
dangerous" breeds is raging as 2006, the Year of the
Dog in the Chinese zodiac calendar, draws to a close.
The crackdown on canines has touched off unusual
demonstrations on the streets of the capital and has
ignited heated exchanges in Internet chat rooms.
Contacts told us that the Propaganda Department has
banned media outlets from a) criticizing the policy,
b) publishing articles about pet regulations in other
countries or c) printing pieces that expound on the
idea of "harmonious existence" between humans and
animals. That the dog policy has become controversial
in the first place reflects the poor state of China's
civil society, scholars said. The lack of
transparency surrounding regulations that affect
people's daily lives provokes suspicion and
frustration that has no sanctioned outlet. Despite
intense feelings on both sides of the dog controls
issue, however, experts do not expect it to produce a
sustained protest movement. End Summary.

"One-Dog Policy" Elicits Growls
--------------


2. (C) The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau
(PSB) and three other city government organs announced
a new policy governing dog ownership on November 6.
Article 2 of the regulation is the most contentious as
it explicitly limits households in most central
Beijing districts to one dog and bans keeping so-
called "large or dangerous dogs" altogether. (Note:
Large dogs are defined as over 35 centimeters tall,
while "dangerous" dogs remain unspecified. End note.)
The directive also requires rabies vaccinations,
introduces leash and curbing laws and identifies "no
dog zones" throughout the city. People who own dogs
that fail to meet the standards are advised to
transfer the pets to special state-run kennels or send
them to an area outside of Beijing. The Government
has said that controlling an upsurge in rabies cases
is a main impetus behind the new measures. Violators

of the restrictions can be fined up to RMB 10,000
(about USD 1,250).


3. (C) On November 11, five days after the PSB
announcement, some 500 protesters rallied against the
new rules near the Beijing Zoo in Xicheng District, an
area covered by the one-dog per family restriction.
Foreign media reported that police detained some 18
demonstrators. Although we are unaware of plans for
further large-scale protests, the dog policy has
clearly touched a nerve in Beijing. On November 29,
an ORANGE sedan covered with pro-dog posters rolled
through the eastern part of the city, attracting
curious stares from passersby. The rules are causing
headaches for the police as well, who are supposed to
confiscate dogs from owners who can not pay fines,
contacts told us. Many police precinct basements are
full of dogs, which the police now have to care for
themselves.


4. (C) Meanwhile, Internet chat rooms have been
overflowing with energetic debate about the issue.
The website www.bobodogs.com has launched a point-
counterpoint forum where supporters and opponents of
the dog directive square off about everything from the
legitimacy of the rabies threat to what many netizens
are calling the "selfishness of urban dog owners." In
a typical posting, one opponent of the policy wrote
that "the Government should be more tolerant. It
should not prohibit people's hobbies just because some
people do not like dogs! Speaking of bothering other
people, where are the controls on smokers, gamblers,
alcoholics and people with bad breath and body odor?"
But a chat room participant responded, "Beijing is
doing a good job. Dogs are humans' friends? They are
only loyal to their owners and attack others!"

The Censors Bite
--------------


5. (C) Such colorful commentary has been absent from
the mainstream Chinese media because the Propaganda
Department has issued strict coverage guidelines, said
Zhou Qing'an (protect),a free lance journalist who

BEIJING 00024267 002 OF 002


regularly contributes to The Beijing News. Media
outlets are not permitted to a) criticize the policy,
b) publish articles that draw on the experience of
other countries in terms of their rules covering dogs
and other pets or c) print pieces that expound on the
idea of "harmonious existence" between humans and
animals (of any kind). Zhou learned No. 3 the hard
way. He proposed to The Beijing News that he write a
column about human-animal harmony as an indirect
criticism of the new rules. Telling him about the
Propaganda guidelines, an editor shot down his
storyline.

An Uncivil Society
--------------


6. (C) The controversy surrounding the one-dog policy
reflects the underdevelopment of China's civil
society, claimed Li Dun, a professor at Tsinghua's
Center for the Study of Contemporary China. Cities in
rules-based countries have leash and curbing laws that
developed in a transparent way over time, Li said. By
contrast, no one knows the origin of Beijing's new
directive, leaving ample space for rumors and
speculation. The root of the restrictions is probably
a disagreement between dog owners and petless
neighbors, Li surmised. Unable to settle matters
among themselves and with no trust in the ability of
the court system to hash things out equitably, the
aggrieved probably reached as high as they could for
influential connections to get results, Li theorized.
Rumors are circulating, he related, that former
President Jiang Zemin even sent a letter on the
subject of dog controls to President Hu Jintao. "How
could something that should be handled locally wind up
on the desk of a top leader?" he asked.


7. (C) In this vein, Li said he and most observers
doubt that any genuine link exists between the new
regulations and a serious public health threat from
rabies. The proportion of people who die of rabies,
let alone who are bitten by dogs, is very small, Li
remarked. He cited improving traffic safety as a much
more urgent task facing the Government. Official
statistics bear him out. According to the Ministry of
Health, 2,545 people died of rabies in 2005 compared
to nearly 100,000 who were killed in traffic
accidents. In addition, during the first 10 months of
2006, 1,866 people died of rabies. At that rate, the
number of rabies deaths in China will decline to about
2,240 this year.

Frayed Social Fabric?
--------------


8. (C) The new restrictions appear to mostly affect
dog owners among poorer families, the working class
and the elderly, said Victor Yuan (protect),president
of the public opinion polling firm Horizon and a
longtime Embassy contact. Middle class and richer
individuals can pay the fines (or bribes) necessary to
keep their unsanctioned pets. But Yuan said his
informal research indicates that passions on the dog
issue, pro and con, are running high across class
lines. He Jiangtao (protect),a journalist at Citizen
Magazine, separately made a similar point, adding that
in his view there has been a social cost. The PSB
notice announcing the regulations included telephone
numbers the public could dial to report scofflaws.
The official encouragement to inform on others about
their dogs, said He, is uncomfortably reminiscent of
the Cultural Revolution period when the pervasive lack
of trust all but unraveled China's social fabric.


9. (C) Nonetheless, Yuan of Horizon discounted the
possibility that a cohesive protest movement will
emerge to advocate on behalf of harried dog owners.
"People have a hard enough time mobilizing their
residents committees to demand services from their
building management," Yuan said. Yuan added that he
has talked to National People's Congress deputies who
believe the new regulations are oversimplified and
inapplicable to concerns about public health and pet
registration. He predicted that when the NPC convenes
in March, the body will produce new legislation that
is less draconian. Failing that, Yuan forecast that
the trajectory of the directive would be akin to that
of the 1993 law banning fireworks. After an initial
crackdown, enforcement became increasingly lax and
people started to ignore the rules. Then the
Government repealed the law entirely in late 2005.
Randt