Beijing residents angry over SARS lies and blunders

Taipei Times ^ | 4.28.03

[Enemy Of The State]

Beijing residents angry over SARS lies and blunders
AP
Sunday, Apr 27, 2003,Page 1

Days after China conceded it bungled the handling of the SARS outbreak, public anger over the foul-ups and perceived lies is spreading like a virus.

"They've made a complete mess of this," said one office worker, while waiting to order a chicken sandwich at a nearly deserted McDonald's restaurant in central Beijing.

"The leaders messed up and people have died, so how can they not step down to take responsibility?" said the man, who only gave his surname, Zhong.

Nervous Beijingers have donned virus-filtering masks and emptied shelves of rice and disinfectant amid rumors that Beijing would be sealed off. Thousands of students, temporary workers and expatriates have fled, while others debate nightly whether to go or stay.

Chinese officials claimed for weeks that they had a handle on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and ignored claims by doctors and other health experts that the epidemic was growing. SARS was "under effective control," Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said on April 3, just as reports of scores of cases in Beijing were coming in.

Attitudes changed drastically and abruptly last Sunday, when officials conceded that Beijing had nearly 350 SARS cases -- nearly 10 times more than previously announced. By Friday, the number of infections in Beijing had climbed to more than 870, with 42 deaths.

State media have ramped up information on the disease and thousands of residents are being quarantined in homes and hospitals as the city promises tough measures.

Still, many Chinese say the sluggish start and the state media's initial silence about the outbreak has left them feeling unprepared -- and angry.

"One week ago, the government hardly told us anything about SARS," said a Beijing hotel waitress, who only gave her surname, Chen.

"Now we're having a big campaign, but I still have suspicions that we're not getting all the information. They're still covering things up," said the woman, who was also upset because the hotel's dining room staff weren't allowed to wear face masks.

Many restaurant and hotel managers, already hit by declining business due to SARS concerns, have forbidden staff from wearing masks for fear of scaring off what customers are left. Government officials worried about setting off a panic have also gone conspicuously mask-free in public appearances.

The Communist Party forbids criticism that might threaten its power and most Chinese know where the limits are. Though quick to vent in private conversations or messages posted on the Internet, Beijing residents aren't marching in the street or spraying anti-government graffiti on buildings.

Yet the degree of outrage has already compelled a government health official to issue a rare apology for the slow release of information about the disease. Beijing's mayor has also been sacked and the health minister has been stripped of his party posts.

[struwwelpeter]

This is similar to the state of affairs after Chernobyl - the goverment hid vital health information from the people, who in turn lost all faith in anything the bureaucrats had to say after that. In the wake of this disaster, which was soon followed by the sinking and cover-up of the Admiral Nakhimov (Russian Titanic), and the Armenian earthquake, the Soviet Union was soon a bad memory.

Let's hope the Chicoms disappear as quickly.

[Russell Scott]

The biggest lie is that a common flu/cold bug has become SARS, oooh. In other news, more Americans died today from complications due to various strains of flu and cold germs, then have died in the entire world from SARS in over a month. Time to get out my voodoo mask, that will protect me.

[xm177e2]

The biggest lie is that a common flu/cold bug has become SARS

In other words, "the medical establishment is ignorant." What a stupid thing to say. SARS is a new and distinct disease, and there is nothing implausible about it originating from a mutant strain of a more common virus.

[Russell Scott]

Every five years or so a new strain shows up. It just never gets a fancy name and a lot of hype because they didn't need to get the people to believe the UN was actually a legitimate organization. Now that the UN has been exposed a criminal enterprise that works hand and hand with the likes of Saddam, they need to go back to their phony smiley face humanitarian front, so people won't look at the hideous beasts hiding behind the WHO mask of goodness. And now you know the rest of the story.

iSARS - Ignore Seeing America Remove Saddam (and expose the UN as a totally corrupt, immoral, criminal enterprise)

[tessalu]

Let the Iraqi Information Minister handle it.

[illumini]

We need to work with Chinese pro-democracy activists, -and make it work this time. Remember the documentary about OPOR or whatever thay called it in Serbia. It wasn't bombs that changed Serbia as much as the will of the people.

[illumini]

What was that charachter's name? He's funnier than Joe Isuzu, -albeit freaking evil...

[iopscusa]

Goodmorning RS,

You have a point on iSARS....jeez, when are we going to hear from the UN, ChiCom, French/German Nazi...etc, boxes from Baghdah. Wonder if the iSARS smokescreen will cover the lousy thieves' tails?

[libtoken]

From Radio Netherlands:

SARS claims first victim in Taiwan

(snip)

Meanwhile, SARS has claimed its first victim in Taiwan. The victim was probably infected by a relative who had visited Hong Kong.

The disease has killed six more people in Hong Kong, raising the death toll there to 121.

The Chinese authorities (snip) have closed all restaurants and cafes in the capital, Beijing. Earlier, all of the capital's schools and universities were closed, and 4,000 people quarantined.

[libtoken]

Radio Australia reports the Chinese have sealed off the third largest university in Beijing, the People's University. No one is allowed to enter or leave.

[libtoken]

The BBC reports the Beijing authorities have also closed cafes, theatres and other forms of entertainment.

[aristeides]

Most new diseases don't have a 14% or so death rate.

[TaxRelief]

This thread is for rational discussion of SARS and the resulting world manipulation by the UN/WHO. This thread is also for fantasizing abut nuking China.

Alarmist are requested to continue posting on one of the numerous other SARS threads that have already been posted to today.

[TaxRelief]

Beijing residents may be angry, but if they are not careful, they will end up in a SARS quarantine hospital just for citing their feelings.

Most new diseases don't have a 14% or so death rate?

Many new diseases have an even higher death rate. Ebola and AIDS began at close to 100%, for instance. We now have resonable treatments for HIV that delay death for 20 to 30 years. Nobody knows what the first outbreak of measles, mumps, or pertussis looked like.

[aristeides]

This thread is for rational discussion of SARS

I take it you think you and your buddies are more rational observers of what is happening in China than the people in China?

[vetvetdoug]

My mindset has been formed by the experience of the Venezuelean Equine Encephalitis outbreak in June 1971, The Vesicular stomatitis outbreak in the western US in 1996, West Nile Virus Outbreak (current), numerous outbreaks of Epizootic Hemorragic Disease, pseudorabies, and the inbility of the Public Health services to curb the spread of AIDS and antibiotic resistant tuberculosis in the human population. SARS poses a genuine threat to our economy and population IMHO based upon what I have read about the course of the disease. If it brings down the communist regime,then great.

Many diseases have a higher mortality rate but are controlled by breaking the cycle of transmission (vector control, isolation, common sense viral barrier techniques) but SARS spreads in the face of the common protective techniques, which IMHO makes it a significant threat. There are more factors that makes SARS potentially dangerous and they are TNTC, morbidity, economics, and mutation are just three. Underestimating the potential problem or taking this lightly would be devastating if we are caught unprepared or uninformed.

The virologists, epidemiologists and physicians are still trying to sort out the disease progression in the patient, the mode(s) of transmission, what makes the super spreaders, the symbiotic relationship with other viruses/and or bacteria, and the treatment and control methods most effective. There is too little known at the present time and everything is up for questioning and discussion.

[EternalHope]

Good post.

[EternalHope]

This thread is for rational discussion of SARS and the resulting world manipulation by the UN/WHO. This thread is also for fantasizing abut nuking China.

Yup, SARS is fake. It's really just the flu, cleverly disguised by the UN/WHO in order to destroy the economies of Hong Kong, China, and Toronto. This was part of a clever plan to punish the U.S. Or maybe it was to send us a veiled threat. Or maybe it was to get us to like the UN again.

Sorry. I don't like the UN and its spawn the WHO either, but I just don't have enough tinfoil to think they created a massive and fraudulent SARS conspiracy.

On the other hand, your idea about a whole thread devoted to fantasizing about nuking China has definite appeal.

[The Pheonix]

Nuke China??? Get real

The amount and number of warheads required to nuke China will produce enough nuclear fall-out to wipe out Japan, the Koreas, Vietnam, and if there is enough wind, maybe part of the Werst Coast of our own US would have cancers for the next decades

The Chinese have some ICBMs of their own, too, so I heard