If a voodoo doll with a pin attached ready for the pricking was high on your list of souvenirs to pick up while perusing the vendor stalls on Beijing’s streets then you’ll have to do some searching. (Think Shenzhen and Guangzhou.) Apparently the Chinese government doesn’t like these dolls and for various reasons, but placing the ban has created a craze according to this Newsweek piece found on MSN. Concerned authorities at the Industrial and Commercial Management Department claim the dolls encourage superstition and “promote feudalism and feudal beliefs.” Other citizens equally upset about the dolls and (whispers) maybe even a little afraid of an enemy they may have crossed in the past, are calling on the Communist Party to enforce a nationwide ban on the voodoo dolls. However, vendors sing a different tune where one individual believes teens purchased the dolls because they were cool, not because they were trying to hurt each other.
For those still looking to flatter their enemies by wasting countless hours of their own precious time with pricking, poking, and prodding at the plush, yarn or hand-made dolls can check the web where internet sales for the dolls continue to flourish. See MSN for the full details.