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April 26, 2004
You are on the invidual archive page of What's news today. Click Simon World weblog for the main page.
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What's news today
Forget about the usual cacophony of war, suppression, political deadlock, SARS. There are far more important stories afoot today in Hong Kong. Taking pride of place on the front page is another win by a horse that has now won a small country's GDP for its connections. The win wasn't a surprise, given he was backed in at 1 to 10 on (that means of every $10 invested, you get only $1 if he wins). This is big news in Hong Kong. Secondly it turns out my second home, Ocean Park, is engaging in some prudent succession planning. From the SCMP: They were Beijing's post-handover "precious gift" to Hong Kong, luxuriating in an $80 million home, feted by thousands of fans and adored by visiting mainland dignitaries. But with Jia Jia and An An lumbering towards their twilight years, a new generation is needed to follow the childless panda couple. Ocean Park wants two baby pandas and has asked the Home Affairs Bureau for the government's help to secure a gift it dubbed "one country, four pandas"...Giant pandas are not the only animals on Ocean Park's shopping list under its massive plan to revamp the 27-year-old park. Others include killer whales, polar bears and penguins.And these guys are worried about Disney? All the Mouse Kingdom can offer are teenagers dressed as merchandising opportunities, whereas Ocean Park offers real animals as merchandising opportunities. Still the opening of Disneyland next year should be seen as a blessing: it will help spread the mainland tour groups that insist on touching JC and PB without asking. We tried charging some people yesterday for the honour of touching PB's curls and JC's white skin, but they thought we were joking. In fact one said "What are you talking about, I'm your father-in-law," which was kind of funny, because he is my father-in-law. The SCMP also reports that Hemlock's friend, the Bowen Rd dog poisoner, has branched out: Pet owners in Hong Kong are facing a new threat - a cat poisoner who appears to be following in the footsteps of the notorious Bowen Road dog poisoner. Five stray cats among a colony living in Victoria Park have fallen victim to the poisoner in the past few weeks. One died and one recovered. The others evaded rescuers trying to catch them to take them to a veterinarian...Dr Conway said the cat poisoner was someone who knew something about cat behaviour. "Unlike dogs, cats do not rush into food. They are more cautious and the Victoria Park cats are very well-fed." The Bowen Road dog poisoner has killed at least 20 dogs and injured up to 200 others since 1989 by leaving poison-laced meat - usually chicken - around the Mid-Levels area.Which segues nicely into a curious little incident last night at the complex where I live. Walking back with Misti the wonder dog we decided to cut across the cul-de-sac where the entrance to our tower is. There was a car stopped, depositing a mother and her teenage daughter before the father went to park. Before I go further, let me remind you that Misti is an English Cocker Spaniel. She is about 1.5 feet tall. She is always on a leash. She has very little interest in people, unless they are walking through the front door of our apartment. She is completely harmless. So we are crossing the driveway. The mother, already out of the car, sees me first. She then looks down and sees Misti. She proceeds to shut the daughter's car door, rapidly getting into the car herself. Next she locked her car door while swearing in Cantonese. Protected only by an inch of metal and a flimsy lock from this vicious beast, the occupants said a prayer to whomever was listening as a laughing gweilo and his dog walked past the window. I too was once scared of dogs. However even at the height of my fears I was able to leave a car, walk a few metres and enter a building without feeling threatened by a small dog. I do not understand the collective fear of dogs that Chinese people tend to have. Is there some deep-seated cultural reason for it? Or is it just another curiousity that defies reason? posted by Simon on 04.26.04 at 10:22 AM in the
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over here, it's more of the individual - fear towards dogs or any other animals - than the entire race of specimens. but sadly when the legitimate gangsters announced the mass culling of stray cats - coinciding with China's culling of civet cats back then - certain sections of the chinese population behaved similarly like that woman who reacted towards Misti. it's not a curiosity that defies reason, Simon. it's the way their brains are wired that even i, a part-chinese, have given up understanding them a long time ago. posted by: breanagh on 04.26.04 at 12:20 PM [permalink]we get it the whole time. we have 2 dogs as you know. 1 is even shorter than misti and is more likely to lick you to death than anything else, the other is a "sort-of" labrador so is a bit bigger but still dopey as hell and has never hurt a flea. yet still when we are walking them, with our 9mth old in his pram, the dogs both on leads, and merrily poking their noses in to the pram in case he has dropped any food, we regularly have adults so scared they are backed up against walls and climbing fences to get away from them. kids i can understand but adults? i used to be all considerate and keep them away from people, but i got so annoyed that the overreactions were still so extreme, and amusing, that in fact i have to be honest and say i now deliberately let them off the lead sometimes just to see the looks of panic and the prospect of these savage beasts roaming free. it's a pathetic thing to do i know but it keeps me entertained. posted by: giles on 04.26.04 at 12:36 PM [permalink]It really defies rational explination. Still might give Giles' idea a whirl this weekend. I'll just tell Misti to think of her cousins on dinner plates all over the mainland. posted by: Simon on 04.26.04 at 05:28 PM [permalink] |
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