http://s3/middle/642f13c7g9bd0f1650f92&690
       2011年1月纽约哈德逊河边上的狗公园。   陈卫华摄

很多上海人都会把自己的城市称为中国的纽约。确确实实，随着上海摩天楼的增加和地铁的四通八达，这两个城市越来越像了。不过这两个城市最近要制定的法律却将使它们互相变得更加陌生。

纽约市政委员会上周刚通过新的禁烟法令，禁止任何人在纽约市的公园和海滩吸烟。只要一贯倡导禁烟的市长布隆伯格签字后，这个法令将使纽约成为不吸烟者的天堂。

纽约早在1993年就制定法令严禁在餐馆和酒吧吸烟。而纽约目前每包烟 征收5.85美元的税也是全美国最高的。

上海的禁烟令于去年三月生效。但该法令只禁止在学校、医院、体育场馆和公共汽车等有限的公共场所吸烟。即使中国签署的世界卫生烟草框架协议在上月9日生效，要求在包括办公室在内的所有室内公共场所禁烟，上海新的禁烟条例根本没有包括办公室禁烟。

像中国其它城市一样，上海在禁止餐馆和酒吧吸烟这方面严重缺乏决心。难道传说中的上海污染的空气比香烟对人健康造成的伤害更大是真的吗？如果这样，那就不奇怪为何上海在起草严厉的犬类条例时表现的热情要比禁烟更高。

《上海犬类管理条例》现在在最后制定阶段。目前的方案只允许每户养一只犬。目前该法案也没说明是否现在拥有两条或更多犬的家庭必须把多余的狗给别人领养。

随然新的犬类条例规定上海市政府将降低犬类管理的年费，从目前最高的2000元降到今后可能的300元，这个新法案毫无疑问在对犬类的管理上还是过于严厉。细细读后，整篇法案好像在说： 把你家的狗关在家里，不要出门。当然，官方的解读可能有所不同。

这或许是为什么我的一些朋友到纽约看到狗和狗、狗和狗主人在狗公园中自由快乐玩耍时，感动得快要流泪的原因。纽约现在有40多个狗公园，而上海市区连一个也没有。狗完全没有自由奔跑的空间。有些狗主人不得不在周末把狗带到郊区私人的付费狗场去玩耍。

纽约设立狗公园给出的理由更为让人感动：纳税的狗主人应该享有而且需要户外和狗娱乐的场所。 狗不被拴着参加娱乐，有助于狗之间互相更好社交，从而培养它们成为有利于自己社区的良好狗公民。 狗公园也会吸引得更多人来公园，拉近了纽约人之间的距离，从而使该城市生活更令人愉悦…

而且在纽约，近年来狗咬人事件的大幅度下降也被认为和狗公园增加，及让狗不用拴绳自由活动有关。

很明显，上海那些认为只有把狗关在家里才能降低狗咬人事件的人完全是和纽约背道而驰。其实即使是人，在家里被关的太久也有可能会大喊大叫，甚至咬人。

当纽约准备对吸烟者采取严厉 措施的时候，上海在严厉却表现在犬类管理上。

或许现在是上海人和纽约客互相迁徙的时候了。上海给纽约吸烟的人颁发上海户口，而纽约给上海养狗的人颁发纽约的绿卡。

Many Shanghainese like to refer to their city as China's New York and the two metropolises have indeed become more alike with their huge number of skyscrapers and long subway systems. But new laws being mooted by the two cities set them clearly apart.

In New York, the City Council passed a bill last week banning smoking in all the city's parks and beaches. The law, expected to be signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will make New York a haven for non-smokers.

New York banned smoking in bars and restaurants as early as 1993, and at $5.85 a pack, the city now levies the highest taxes on smokers in the United States.

Shanghai's law on tobacco control, which took effect last March, bans smoking only in limited public places, such as schools, hospitals, stadiums and buses. The law does not even include offices, although the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which China has ratified, requires the country to ban smoking in all indoor public places, including offices, as of Jan 9 this year.

Like many Chinese cities, Shanghai has shown little willingness to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. Is it because the rumor that Shanghai's air pollution affects people more than cigarette smoke is actually true? Perhaps that's why the city has exhibited more enthusiasm for drafting draconian dog laws rather than enforcing its anti-smoking ones.

The Shanghai canine regulation, in the last stage of deliberation, would allow only one dog in each family. At the moment, the proposed one-dog bill does not say whether people who own two or more dogs should have the rest adopted.

Though the local government is expected to lower its annual levy on dog owners from as much as 2,000 yuan ($305) to 300 yuan, the bill is undeniably harsh. As I read the bill the message seemed to be: Keep your dog inside your apartment and never let it out. The authorities, of course, have explained differently.

That is why some of my Shanghai friends visiting New York were almost in tears when they saw dogs playing with each other or with their owners in the city's 40 dog parks. In Shanghai, there is not a single dog park and dogs are never allowed out unleashed. Some owners have to travel to the suburbs at the weekend and pay a handsome fee so their dogs can run around on private land.

In New York, the reasons for launching dog parks and off-leash recreation are quite telling: Tax-paying dog owners deserve and need outdoor space to exercise their dogs and off-leash recreation helps dogs socialize, resulting in better canine citizens, which in turn is better for the communities in which they live. Off-leash dog recreation also gets people into the parks, bringing New Yorkers together and making the city a more pleasant place.

In New York, a dramatic reduction in dog bites has been credited to the advent of off-leash recreation and dog parks.

Clearly those in Shanghai who believe locking dogs inside will reduce dog bites are moving in the wrong direction. People, if locked indoors for too long, would probably want to bark and bite as well.

As New York gets tougher on smokers and Shanghai gets tough on dogs, maybe it's time for a Shanghai hukou for New York smokers and New York green cards for Shanghai dog owners.

(By Chen Weihua)