The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this? Trending in Beijing is a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.

Anti-feline vigilantes target Beijing strays

Students at Beijing’s Peking University have a long history of feeding the campus cat population. It turns out, however, that not everyone is a fan of these furry friends roaming free.

This week, a number of Haidian District cats have turned up with metal darts stuck in their skin, prompting concern of the locals not just for the cats, but for the people in the community. Some residents have called the police over the matter, fearing that with the weather warming up, the poor aim of a dart-hawking vigilante could seriously hurt someone out for a stroll.

Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, the darts began showing up following the release of a study claiming that cats and ferrets may be able to carry the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in humans. In response to the findings, the World Health Organization has said they will reassess the possibility of animal-to-human transfer. Not willing to wait for their official statement, at least one person in Beijing has decided to take matters, and apparently some sort of dart shooter, into their own hands.

Naturally, cat-adoring netizens were outraged as they posted with the hashtag 'Several stray cats in a Beijing community were shot by steel darts' (#北京一小区多只流浪猫遭钢钉射伤#). As one woman said, "I’m so angry, I want to yell at someone... You don’t have to raise them, but don’t hurt them! How can there be such cruel people in the world?"

Another poster expressed even deeper hopelessness. "Can this kind of murky psychology be changed? It is impossible. I have encountered such people... They have no sympathy, no kindness, no conscience. Such people are psychologically corrupt."

Fortunately for the cats, not everyone has it out for them. All of the injured cats that were found were taken by caring neighbors to a veterinarian for care.

For how long will Beijingers have to wear a mask?

While some netizens have taken to their keyboards to scold foreigners for not wearing masks, others are wondering when they can take off their own masks now that the government has officially loosened guidelines, discussing the question with the hashtag 'How long should Beijing wear masks?' (#北京还要戴多久口罩#.)

The discussion was prompted when Beijing Daily reported that the central government has "clarified" (if such a vague statement can be called a clarification) that mask-wearing requirements must be adjusted according to changing circumstances.

While some commenters speculated that masks would come off by summertime, many others said that they actually enjoy wearing masks. "When I wear a mask, I don’t have to put on makeup," wrote one user. "It’s great!"

Another suggested that no matter when the masks come off, he would always be prepared, writing, "I think in the future, I will always keep masks around, just in case."

Ankle monitors for predators – yay or nay?

In light of the revelation that the Bao Yuming, CEO of telecom company ZTE has been accused of sexual assault against his adopted daughter, Sina News raised the question: 'Do you support the use of ankle monitors in China?' (#你支持国内推广电子脚铐吗#.)

Such devices, Sina pointed out, have been used to track the movements of sex offenders in South Korea since 2008.

The vast majority of commenters were in favor of using the technology as a means to keep tabs on predators, but some netizens had additional questions. "I think that it depends on the situation," wrote one, adding, "Strictly speaking, isn’t good old-fashioned incarceration more reliable? At least for now, let’s not rely on technology for everything."

Trending in Beijing last week:

Futuristic subway windows, murderer murders again, and anti-microbial masks

Images: Charlie Deets (via Unsplash), Weibo, khan.co.k, startribune.com