love the people, love their dogs

Alex reminds me that I’ve been remiss in covering mass group incidents in China recently. Here’s an odd one.

About 500 dog owners staged a protest in Beijing yesterday against the seizure and killing of pets in a crackdown sparked by rabies fears.

The demonstrators, monitored by about 200 police officers, gathered outside Beijing Zoo waving signs and chanting slogans such as: "Down with dog-raising restrictions" and "Love our dogs, love others for a harmonious society".

…Fellow protester Jiang Ran said: "I've been jittery since the government announcement was made. Whenever I hear a knock at the door, I rush to hide my dog under the bed. I have two dogs. I don't want to give either of them away."

The protesters said they were not against government's decision to better regulate dogs, but the approach adopted by the Beijing government was wrong.

"Why can't I raise more than one dog, while the nation raises stupid or corrupt officials? Why can they go to our homes to take away our property?" a man shouted. The crowd yelled: "Down with corrupt officials!"

Zhang Luping, a Beijing-based animal rights activist, said her animal protection website www.ani8.com was shut yesterday. Police told her the closure was due to her "leaking state secrets".

The riots in the countryside follow the pattern of classic enclosures. The above seems to be an example of a more diffuse unwillingness to be constantly pushed about by authority. See here (you’ll have to register first).

Even as China surges onto the world stage as if powered by rocket fuel, Earth's most populous country is beset by trust issues that would test anyone.

Rules aren't clear and must be navigated on the fly. The food supply is full of life- and health-threatening fakes. Factories spew chemicals into the air and water at alarming rates. Power and connections far outweigh justice, and social tension is growing.

And so on. In vulgar terms, there’s a general sense of the shittiness of everything, along with a growing hair trigger response to perceived injustices. It’s easy to take a don't they have anything better to demonstrate about line in response to this. Personally, I think that the fact that people are prepared to brave Chinese riot police for the sake of their pets is a good sign.

Comments

[Alex]

Hmm. On the other hand, it shows exactly what people will brave the riot police about - anything that punches through their crust personally. Not the deportations.

[Martin Wisse]

On the gripping hand, this sort of issue may be acting like a pressure valve for all of the anxieties that cannot be protested about, allowed by the authorities to avoid more serious protests...

[Joy]

Thank you Jamie for this post and for your comments regarding people being willing to stand up for their pets.

I understand that many people don't "get" why dog lovers are so attached to their dogs. But as someone who cannot imagine life without dogs, I can tell you that dogs make us feel like the people we want to be. I strongly suspect that is partially why Chinese dog lovers are literally taking it to the streets. They have discovered the magic of a relationship with another being and are not willing to go back to life with just other humans. As one Chinese dog lover was quoted as saying, "The dog gives me somone to talk to other than my wife."

Humans are okay, and I have a lot friends among them, but dogs can transform you and teach you things other humans can't.

More power to the Chinese dog lovers!