A man in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, reportedly tried to use the subway with a container carrying two live goldfish. The security staff stopped him and so he threw away the fish, killing them. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

That incident has aroused fierce discussion online. Some say the security staff were right to stop the man as he was breaking the rules. While others say Zhengzhou's regulations prohibiting pets on the subway are too rigid because the goldfish will not annoy others.

Both views are right.

While the subway regulations clearly forbid people bringing pets on the subway, it is a rule that might need revising a little.

The rule is meant to prevent people from bringing their dogs and cats with them on the subway, because they might disturb other passengers and some passengers might be frightened by them.

However, some people have pets other than cats and dogs, and some cities are more tolerant of people carrying these pets on the subway. In Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, any passenger can carry a fish so long as the container is watertight. In Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, passengers are allowed to carry "goldfish, turtles, and hamsters" on the subway.

The governance of a city needs public participation, and many progressive rules have been propelled by a single incident. Zhengzhou might consider revising its subway regulations taking into account public opinion.

After all, the only victims in the incident are the two goldfish. We hope such tragedies will be prevented in the future.