The NY Times has an excellent follow-up interview with the Beijing doctor who went on record about the government’s attempted cover-up of SARS so as not to spoil their fun at the Party Congress:
In China, health statistics are often regarded as state secrets, particularly if they are negative. Chinese leaders are particularly reluctant to release bad news occurring in Beijing, the capital.
In fact, Dr. Jiang said that the first case of SARS in Beijing occurred in March, during the annual meeting of Parliament, the National People’s Congress. Ten doctors and nurses at the Army’s No. 302 hospital were infected after contact with that patient.
Hospital leaders in Beijing were called to the ministry of health for a meeting. But instead of instructing them to pass on a public health warning, Dr. Jiang said, the ministry told the doctors that they were “forbidden to publicize” that SARS had arrived in Beijing “in order to ensure stability” as Parliament convened.
This is old news. What people need to get is why the governmment harbors such fears, why they are so terrified of any signs of “disharmony” or “instability.” This is literally the key to understanding what makes China the country it is today. The problem is, anyone who really does undertands this is automatically an enemy of the state.
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Abundance, like want, ruins many.
April 19, 2005 @ 1:32 am | Comment