‘I’ve never heard of any students eating dog’

CHINESE students in Nicosia yesterday defended themselves against rumours that they ate stray dogs, saying they’d never heard of any of their compatriots indulging in the practice in Cyprus.

Rita Fu, 20, majoring in communications at Intercollege, was baffled by media reports leaked by immigration police that her compatriots ate dogs in Cyprus.

“Are you sure? I want to say that you have to respect a country’s customs and culture when you live here. If this did happen then it’s a shame, but as far as me and my friends are concerned, I never heard about any of them eating dogs,” she said.

Cyprus College student Ailios Zang admitted that many people back home thought dog meat was delicious, but doubted students would go to the trouble of cooking it up.

“I don’t think many eat dogs, but they would cook them, never eat them raw,” he said.

“I’ve heard that dog is delicious, but I don’t eat it. maybe I was desperate, but I don’t know,” he added.

“I think it can only be some individuals. Perhaps its some of the newer ones who are not clear about Cypriot law regarding animal protection,” said Wang Jiang Hua, 26, an MBA student from Beijing studying at Intercollege.

If any do indulge in the Chinese delicacy in Cyprus, they probably pick up their prey from among strays in the street, according to the students.

“I don’t know, but maybe like the cats, they find them on the road,” said Zang, who has a pet dog Rocky back home in China.

“I feel very sorry if people are stealing pet dogs and eating them,” said Jiang Hua.

The government told parliament’s environment committee on Thursday that it would make amendments to existing legislation to prohibit the consumption of cat and dog.

While he supports amending the law, AKEL deputy George Lillikas criticised the press for drawing attention to such stories, on the grounds that it could incite racism against Chinese students.

“We must be more open-minded in understanding the habits of different cultures, just as we ask citizens of other countries to respect our cuisine. Chinese people have to be informed about our law and traditions,” he said.

In terms of suffering from racism and abuse, the students were less damning than the Immigrant Support Action Group that has taken up their cause.

Fu said she’d never had any problems. “No. Never. Especially at Intercollege, people here are very friendly and easy to get to know. I feel very good here. Yes I have Cypriot friends and my boyfriend is from Cyprus,” she said.

But Jiang Hua said students were often cold-shouldered in shops by Cypriots claiming they didn’t speak English and refusing to help them. He said he had also heard stories about police brutality.

The dog frenzy started a few days after ISAG convened a news conference to highlight abuse suffered by three Chinese students and two others from Sri Lanka.

ISAG claim Immigration Police leaked the dog story to detract attention from the unjust manner in which they treat foreigners.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.