[HOYA97]

Based upon phone conversations with my wifes family in China, things are far worse than are being reported. The scary thing is what might be happening in the country side where their is little to no healthcare and even fewer news outlets. I think this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

[Judith Anne]

Bump to myself.

[Brian S]

Keep us posted with the reports from the inside! Thanks for posting your info.

[JoeSchem]

"There is an essential difference between inaccuracy of Sars statistics and intentional cover-up of the situation of the disease," he said. China, he explained, had simply used a different system to report cases.

Like Enron used a different accounting system to report profits.

Since China has over a hundred times the population of Hong Kong, and far lower health standards than Hong Kong, I project that the SARS incidence is over a hundred times worse. That would indicate that the actual number of cases runs into the thousands.

Moreover, while it appears that Hong Kong has the situation under control, China's refusal to acknowledge the truth may cause the situation to explode into an epidemic such as the world hasn't seen in decades.

The government's cover-up may ultimately force freedom of speech and democracy, much as the Chernobyl cover-up did in the Soviet Union's penchant for government secrecy. Suppressing the truth is simply too expensive for any society to afford, let alone a poor nation like the PRC.

[zarf]

China should tell the truth about it's AIDS casualty list as well.

[Dog Gone]

Based upon phone conversations with my wifes family in China, things are far worse than are being reported.

I'll second that. This is obviously hearsay to me, but one of my co-workers spoke to a colleague in Beijing yesterday, and he related that "people were dropping like flies" from SARS there.

Maybe he was overreacting, but I don't think we're getting an accurate picture of what is really happening there today from the Chinese authorities.