CHINA: Admissions over SARS Greeted by Shock, Apprehension

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING, Apr 21 2003 (IPS) - Shock and disbelief, as well fast-rising worries, greeted the weekend disclosure of dramatically higher figures for atypical pneumonia in Beijing and the sacking of top officials over the handling of the health crisis.

But beyond that, some observers are speculating that the new leadership under President Hu Jintao could use the crisis to push for ‘glasnost’ in the same way then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev exploited the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 to introduce political reforms in the former Soviet Union.

China fired its health minister and the mayor of Beijing on Sunday and also cancelled a weeklong May Day holiday, after admitting new figures up to 10 times the previously disclosed statistics for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases in the capital.

Beijing now has over 700 confirmed and suspected cases, making it the third-hardest hit community in the world after southern Guangdong province and Hong Kong.

"I can’t believe what is happening," said Chi Lihua, a saleswoman in a supermarket in Beijing. "For weeks they assured us it was all under control. But to cancel the May 1 holiday it means it must be really serious!"

"I don’t trust them even now," said Liu Guotang, a teacher at Beijing Economics and Trade University. "I’m sure even these figures are not the real ones. The university closed today and we have been told to go on a long holiday. If it wasn’t really bad, they wouldn’t have done that."

The Chinese government’s actions come after an emergency meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo on Thursday last week, ending weeks of lies and evasions by top officials who tried to deceive visiting World Health Organisation experts who had been struggling to contain the outbreak of the mysterious new disease.

Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Deputy Party Secretary Meng Xuenong repeatedly issued statements saying that the situation was under control, and that it was safe to travel and live in China.

But in a news conference Sunday, China’s Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang said an investigation ordered by top leaders on Apr. 15 had revealed 339 infections, 18 deaths and 402 suspected cases of SARS in Beijing. These are vastly higher than the 37 cases and four deaths reported earlier.

"The way China behaved has come as a shock to many investors who thought things had changed here," said one foreign diplomat in Beijing, who predicted that "This could be China’s Chernobyl."

He was referring to how Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used the nuclear meltdown in the Ukraine, which Moscow had tried to keep the lid until abnormally high radiation levels were detected in Sweden, to drive his ‘glasnost’ policy, and to discredit the old system at work in the Soviet Union.

Here too, the Chinese government at first issued false statements to the public and even to the WHO – and is only now relenting because the secrecy is damaging the economy and confidence in China.

News of the first SARS case in Beijing was held back for a month for fears it might ruin the March annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, when a major leadership transition was afoot. Upon the conclusion of the legislative meeting, only a few cases were admitted at first.

Until now, political reforms have not been overtly on the agenda of President Hu Jintao, who last week used a public appearance at a military research institute in Beijing to say he is confident about China’s ability to find the methods to combat SARS using high technology.

He termed the battle against SARS "a major task" affecting the health and safety of all Chinese and endangering the country’s development and stability.

No explanation for the dismissal of officials has been given but President Hu and his premier Wen Jiabao, who took office two months ago, are now facing the first test of their rule – and appear to have had to deal with a dangerous split in the leadership.

Health Minister Zhang Wenkang had close ties to senior leader Jiang Zemin. Meng Xuenong, who took office as Beijing mayor only recently, had been highly touted as a "man of the people" and fit the new profile of the Chinese leadership as one that cares for the poor and underprivileged.

Such public sackings are extremely rare in Chinese politics, where the principle of collective responsibility is normally applied.

"Of course we are shocked by the figures, but the fact that they sacked these people gives me hope that things are turning for the better," said Hollis He, an employee at a foreign bank in Beijing. "One doesn’t see this happen everyday."

"Someone had to be held accountable," said a Chinese government source, explaining that the dismissals are designed to be a warning to ensure that other provincial leaders now act promptly and cooperate in addressing the SARS virus.

Still, there are grave doubts whether all the figures in China have been revealed. Some experts wonder how many cases in China’s provinces are being kept secret by local leaders fearful of jeopardising the local economy.

At least eight of China’s poorer provinces, including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, have reported SARS cases. Officials said hospitals in those areas might not be able to cope with the contagion and the influx of patients.

The week-long May Day holiday has been suddenly cancelled to discourage people from travelling and further spreading the disease around the country. The so-called ‘Golden Week’ was introduced five years ago to boost consumer spending in the wake of Asian financial crisis.

Most people have already called off travel plans. Schools and universities are closing down as panic spreads across the country – and there is now the risk of a serious economic slowdown.