Don’t miss this story, even though it’s ancient history in Internet time. It holds a mirror up to the duplicity of the central government, and what it shows is highly unflattering. This SARS story, which only a few days ago I thought was a non-story, has the potential to rock this country in ways you wouldn’t imagine.
The new regime was supposed to be ever so sensitive to “the needs of the people.” So what is its first accomplishment? It gives its citizens the finger, concealing a deadly health threat to make their meaningless People’s Congress look pretty. For a government so obsessed with “stability” and “harmony,” this is highly reckless behavior, the stuff of which general unrest is made. Now, SARS is the only thing people are talking about. This is poised to spiral totally out of control, especially if the government keeps up the CCTV bullshit (“There’s never been a nicer time to visit Guandong!”) while the people become increasingly aware that their “leaders” would rather see them dead than be forced to tell the truth.
NEWSFLASH: Forget about everything I wrote above. I just heard on TV (and I am serious) that “thanks to the efforts of the central government SARS is now under control and no longer a risk to the general public.” What would we do without the central government?
Recent Quackings