New York, July 24 (IANS) Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, called on the Chinese authorities to stop suppressing public discussion of animal abuse, release protesters who remain in detention, and investigate allegations of police violence in China’s Chongqing.
According to HRW, two widely circulated videos showing abuse of stray animals in China this summer triggered widespread public outrage. As the videos spread rapidly online, the right body alleged that Chinese authorities responded with a familiar pattern: “censorship, intimidation, and dispersion.”
“In late June, videos of four boys cruelly mistreating and burning a dog and her puppies in Jieyang, Guangdong province, circulated widely online. Public outrage was swift and overwhelming: paid billboards and other advertisements appeared in over 100 cities across the country called for an end to animal abuse. More than 70,000 people signed an online petition demanding accountability and a national animal protection law,” the HRW stated.
“Animal protection supporters abroad crowdfunded a billboard in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district and purchased screen advertisements in Taipei and New York’s Times Square,” it noted.
The HRW noted that while the Chinese authorities on June 30 acknowledged that the abuse had occurred, it also urged “netizens not to spread related information.”
“Suppression followed. Social media platforms removed posts about ‘Wang Wang,’ a generic and endearing term supporters used for the puppies’ mother. The Chinese social media site Weibo also reportedly blocked a celebrity’s statement and a related trending topic. Online, people have reported that police ordered memorial advertisements taken down from public screens in several cities,” the rights body mentioned.
Drawing parallels with the response in Jieyang, HRW said that earlier in June, police in Chongqing forcibly dispersed hundreds of residents who had gathered for several days to protest another alleged case of dog abuse. It added that the crackdown left several people injured, while dozens were briefly detained before the alleged abuser was taken into custody following public pressure.
“Animal abuse has clearly touched a nerve in China, especially among young people for whom pets have become an important source of companionship. Peaceful expressions of public outrage should never be considered a threat to state security,” HRW stressed.
–IANS
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