Outside a commercial building in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts, a column of people carrying umbrellas and flowers wrapped around the block. For hours, mourners waited in the rain so they could pay their respects to Wang Wang, a stray dog who was killed by five boys in mainland China.
Holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, Brian patiently waited his turn to cram into a lift that would bring him to a small Buddhist temple on the 23rd floor. The 26-year-old from Guangzhou crossed the boundary into Hong Kong earlier that day to take part in the procession, which he had heard about from social media.
Wang Wang and her three puppies were tortured and killed on June 28 in a village in Jieyang, Guangdong province, by five boys all under 14 years old. Videos of the incident, which have since been scrubbed from Chinese social media platforms, show the boys beating the dogs with sticks and dousing Wang Wang in fuel before setting her on fire.
Footage of the horrific killings spread throughout the internet, ending up on social media feeds in Hong Kong and beyond. As billboards funded by ordinary Chinese people went up in New York’s Times Square and around the Taipei 101 skyscraper, Hongkongers have also tried to advocate for animal rights in mainland China.
“When I first saw the video I was furious, and now I just feel helpless. I just hope I can send off Wang Wang and her puppies one last time,” said Brian, who used a pseudonym for fear of reprisals.
| ?HKFP grants anonymity to known sources under tightly controlled, limited circumstances defined in our Ethics Code. Among the reasons senior editors may approve the use of anonymity for sources are threats to safety, job security or fears of reprisals. |
What he didn’t know was that the funeral had been pushed online less than 24 hours before it was originally scheduled to take place. Now, mourners would only be allowed to lay down flowers outside the venue. The funeral’s organiser, the Hong Kong Animal Rights Association, also pulled out of an interview with HKFP on the morning of the ceremony.
Brian was also unaware that the entrance of the building would be flanked by half a dozen plainclothes police officers.
Not far from the temple, a Thai boxing gym had also been asked to take down a banner of Wang Wang after the building’s management office was visited by police. At the same time, charities and activists have struggled to get advertisements depicting the dogs approved by public transport companies.
In the years since Hong Kong saw mass protests in 2019 and Beijing imposed national security legislation in the territory, public advocacy and gatherings have faced severe restrictions or have been treated with suspicion.
Crossing the border may have made it possible for Brian to engage in this small act of remembrance. But in the wake of Wang Wang’s death, Hong Kong society has been navigating another, seemingly arbitrary boundary determining what is and is not allowed when it comes to animal welfare advocacy in the territory.
‘Be careful’
Under the rain, hemmed in by bright orange police tape, a woman in her twenties who only identified herself as “L” also waited in line.
and yes there’s more to depress about the state of law in HK here https://hongkongfp.com/2026/08/24/in-hong-kong-mourning-a-stray-dog-killed-in-mainland-china-means-walking-a-fine-line/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Animal+rights+advocates+walk+a+fine+line%2C+and+Tiananmen+trio+convicted+&utm_source=f460c06092&npnl=NTc0NDAxfGQ5OGViNTI5NjMzM2E3OTEyODgyZjg1YTYzZGQ3ZDEzYWY5OGJmMDkyNTZjM2U0MTlhNjJjODBmYmNlNTU0ZGY
