[blam]

I just got back from my local Chinese restaurant. The owners are a nice, young hard working couple, she (Connie) is from Guandong and he is from Hong Kong. I asked Connie about the schools being closed in Peking (1.7 million kids), she said no. I asked her about the cancellations of May Day travelling, she said no. I told her what we have all been reading and she was suprised. She said that she had talked to her family last night and the Peking schools were still open and that her family had tickets for their May Day travels and didn't know anything about 'the scare' that we're reading about. She said the SARS problem was already 'cured' in Guandong and the biggest problem was in Hong Kong. I stopped talking to her about it. Hmmmmm.

[CathyRyan]

That does not sound good. I am starting to think China is a write off.

[DannyTN]

That is so stupid...

The reaction of China and Toronto sets a precedent. Any city that develops a SARS problem is going to have to decide whether to tell the truth and suffer the short term economic consequences while they get their hands around the problem. Or lie like crazy and let the uninformed public make the situation 10 times worse.

Unfortunately, it looks like many are starting to choose the lie.