Shanghai - to be a one dog town now...

Image via WikipediaAfter getting used to the one child policy during the last thirty years, Shanghai's city authorities have proposed a  one-dog rule in this city of 20 million people.

It is estimated that 800,000 dogs live in Shanghai, where pets are not just companions, but a sign of wealth among the new rich residents of this Chinese city.

The rule was needed, it has been claimed, to combat barking, unscooped dog waste, and the constant risk of dog attacks. In return the city will reduce the costs of owning a dog there, vaccinations and identification chips - from 2000 yuan (NZ$390) down to 300 yuan.

Dog owners in Shanghai will also be responsible for any puppies that are born - they must adopt them out within three months, send them to approved re-homing agencies or have the dogs neutered.

The reduction of licence fees, a contentious issue in Chinese cities anyway where many dogs  go unregistered because of cost, will prove to be a popular move.

Acknowledgements: The Times

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Justice will be served on Chinese man in China for NZ murder...

Image via Wikipedia

Justice will be served on Chinese man in China for NZ murder...



A Chinese kitchenhand accused of murdering an Auckland, NZ, cabbie will be tried in his native country, but will not face the death penalty.



It is understood an agreement has been brokered between the New Zealand and Chinese Governments in which 23-year-old Zhen Xiao will stand trial for the killing of Hiren Mohini, but will not be subject to capital punishment, provided New Zealand police hand over their evidence.



Police located Xiao in Shanghai last week - more than four months after Mr Mohini, 39, was stabbed to death in Mt Eden's View Rd.



Xiao's Auckland flatmates previously told the Weekend Herald he had fled the country - apparently to visit his sick grandfather - about a week after the killing.



Inquiry head Detective Senior Sergeant Hywel Jones last night told the Weekend Herald, from China, the death penalty was typically taken off the table in cases stemming from other jurisdictions.



"Basically what happens in a case like this is we go through diplomatic channels and request that the death penalty is waived and that's what's happened in the past and once they give assurances they don't go back on that."



Mr Jones said he could not reveal how Zhen was located as the case was now before the Chinese courts and details were sub judice.



Acknowledgements: Weekend Herald/ MSN

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