bbc_world
其他
采集 2026-07-23T10:42:45+00:00
Blocked by censors, China's animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas
来源
bbc_world
发布时间
2026-07-23T05:46:09
采集批次
2026-07-23-10
字数
8000
URL 指纹
782b9fa0d9815a83
📄 正文（8000 字）
China's animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas - BBC News [BBC Homepage](https://www.bbc.com) - [Skip to content](#main-heading) - [Accessibility Help](https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/) - [Your account](https://account.bbc.com/account?lang=en-GB&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcqx7wd3x420o) - [Home](https://www.bbc.com) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport) - [Earth](https://www.bbc.com/future/earth) - [Reel](https://www.bbc.com/reel) - [Worklife](https://www.bbc.com/worklife) - [Travel](https://www.bbc.com/travel) - [Culture](https://www.bbc.com/culture) - [Future](https://www.bbc.com/future) - [Music](https://www.bbc.com/culture/music) - [TV](https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl9m) - [Weather](https://www.bbc.com/weather) - [Sounds](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) [More menu](#global-navigation-more-menu) [More menu](#global-navigation-more-menu) [Search BBC](https://www.bbc.com/search?d=NEWS_GNL) - [Home](https://www.bbc.com) - [News](https://www.bbc.com/news) - [Sport](https://www.bbc.com/sport) - [Earth](https://www.bbc.com/future/earth) - [Reel](https://www.bbc.com/reel) - [Worklife](https://www.bbc.com/worklife) - [Travel](https://www.bbc.com/travel) - [Culture](https://www.bbc.com/culture) - [Future](https://www.bbc.com/future) - [Music](https://www.bbc.com/culture/music) - [TV](https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl9m) - [Weather](https://www.bbc.com/weather) - [Sounds](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) [Close menu](#more-menu-button) [BBC News](/news) [Menu](#product-navigation-menu) - [Home](/news) - [Climate](/news/topics/cmj34zmwm1zt) - [World](/news/world) - [US & Canada](/news/world/us_and_canada) - [UK](/news/uk) - [Business](/news/business) - [Tech](/news/technology) - [Science](/news/science_and_environment) - [Entertainment & Arts](/news/entertainment_and_arts) - [Health](/news/health) [More](#product-navigation-more-menu) - [In Pictures](/news/in_pictures) - [BBC Verify](/news/bbcverify) - [Newsbeat](/news/newsbeat) - [Asia](/news/world/asia) - [China](/news/world/asia/china) - [India](/news/world/asia/india) # Blocked by censors, China's animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas Image source, Supplied Image caption, From Taiwan to the US, activists are lobbying for China to pass laws against animal cruelty ByGemini Cheng, BBC News Chinese, Reporting fromHong Kong and Kelly Ng, Reporting fromSingapore - Published 22 July 2026 Updated 4 hours ago **When videos showing the horrific killing****of a stray dog and her puppies sparked outrage on the Chinese internet in June, Beijing's censorship machine kicked into action.** But what was unusual this time was that it pitted the shocked and angry voices against authorities who said they were concerned about the four boys involved, all of them younger than 14. China's Communist Party regime tightly controls media and the internet to suppress criticism of the state and to manage public anger. But in this case authorities cited the age of the boys as they urged people to withhold their comments and scrubbed social media posts about the incident. "We urge the public not to disseminate related information, to reject cyberbullying, and to work together to create a good environment for the growth of minors," reads an official statement. But the restrictions only seemed to spur the outcry. China's animal lovers have now taken their fight offline and abroad, even putting up billboards in New York to drum up support. In China, posts about the incident are still drawing thousands of comments across social media, three weeks after the incident. There is shock, anger and sorrow, as well as demands for laws against animal cruelty, which China currently does not have. Disturbing footage showing the boys in the city of Jieyang, Guangdong province, hitting three puppies with sticks before setting their mother on fire emerged online at the end of June. The boys were seen laughing as the dog, named Wang Wang, burned. Jieyang authorities said last month that the boys would not face criminal charges and would instead be sent to a "specialised school", but did not elaborate. Some reports suggest the boys filmed themselves and uploaded the video online, but police have not commented on that. Censors have tried to block the video to protect the boys' identity, although some people argue that it should stay. Their identities have not been revealed, but snippets of the video with their faces visible continue to circulate online. There are also unverified posts claiming to be close-ups of the boys' faces, raising the risk of other children being wrongly identified. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Animal cruelty is not punishable by law in China Countries around the world restrict information about child offenders or set a high bar for identifying them. For instance, media coverage and public access to juvenile court documents are often restricted to minimise psychological harm caused by undue publicity. In this case, Chinese authorities have not completely banned the discussion yet. Keywords such as "Wang Wang" and "animal protection" came up as trending search terms on Monday, but posts related to them started to disappear towards the end of this week. Some users have also reported that their ability to share others' posts has been restricted. It is hard to say if the deleted or restricted content had named or identified any of the four boys. Officials have not said anything more on the matter. Posts by several celebrities, including Chinese actor Du Jiang and Taiwanese actress Joe Chen, who had called for China to strengthen protection for animals also disappeared. But it's unclear if these were taken down by the celebrities themselves. Chinese users have refused to back down though, with some turning to advocates abroad to air Wang Wang's plight. It is hard to say why this, of all the sensitive issues that are censored in China, has galvanised such pushback. Part of the reason could be that it's the latest in a string of [animal abuse cases](/news/articles/cp3xngy9vvxo) that have made headlines recently. And the footage seems to have had a visceral impact. Animal lover PL tells BBC Chinese she found it "affecting in a particularly severe way". "We can't make our voices heard, so many people [outside China] are actively helping us to share this message," the woman in eastern China says. The International Organisation for Animal Protection based in Italy says it has received more than 100 reports from people across the world, calling for the organisation to intervene. It added that it had sought more information from Chinese authorities. Image source, Supplied Image caption, China's animal lovers have taken their fight global, with some putting up billboards in places as far away as New York In New York City's Times Square, one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world, photographs of Wang Wang come up on a gigantic digital screen every 35 minutes. One of the captions reads: "She was loved. She wanted to live. She should still be here." Similar billboards have been put up on a building near Taipei 101, an iconic 101-floor skyscraper in Taiwan. This one includes a picture of Wang Wang nursing her puppies. "This planet is their home too. Justice for Wang Wang," the caption