City in China ends ban on dogs

The city of Jiangmen, China, has repealed its total ban on dogs after only nine days but still bars them in public areas, officials say.

The local ordinance was approved in June, and went into effect July 26, Xinhua reported. The regulation, which banned residents from having dogs within the urban areas of Jiangmen, also authorized stray dogs found roaming the streets to be euthanized, the state-run news agency said.

The regulation, issued by the municipal government, was prompted by the more than 12,000 dog bites in the city in 2010, 42 deaths due to dog attacks between 2008 and 2010, and more than 4,000 dog-related complaints police received between January and July of this year.

On Wednesday, in response to an outcry by residents, officials amended the law to permit dog ownership within the city, but still bans them from public spaces.

China Defense Ministry Web site opens

China's Ministry of National Defense has begun operating its official Web site, saying it will help modernize China's armed forces and promote transparency.

The start-up of the site www.mod.gov.cn was part of the 84th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

A ministry statement said the Web site, authorized by the powerful Central Military Commission, is "a significant step in promoting transparency" and "an important move in the modernization of China's national defense and armed forces" and will carry features, up-to-date defense information, including defense expenditures, national defense white papers and transcriptions of new conferences.

A month ago, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who also chairs the military commission, had proposed implementing a "major strategic thinking" model of military development, urging priority be given "to accelerating the development of methods through which troops' combat effectiveness is raised."

The PLA Daily newspaper, in an editorial Monday, urged officers and soldiers to enhance risk awareness, noting international military competition has become increasingly fierce and modern wars are swiftly evolving.

China already has confirmed launching an aircraft carrier program which includes refitting a carrier originally built by the former Soviet Union.

Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, in his remarks about modernizing the military forces, said the army will continue to oppose and deter secessionist activities for "Taiwan independence," and make due contributions to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.