China still in denial about SARS :: home :: Plug and Play
While the World Health Organization has been working to scientifically identify the source of SARS, the Chinese health officials have been giving their citizens placebos to keep a national panic from developing. Chinese health officials have been giving citizens SARS prevention shots and prescribing traditional Chinese medicines to combat the disease. I wonder, how the Chinese government has managed to come up with a SARS vaccine and even traditional medicines to prevent SARS even while the WHO and other health agencies have only just confirmed identification of the root cause last week. The answer is simple. These things do not help. They are just meant as a means of control and to keep people from starting a panic. Even in with the officials coming clean and the sacrificial lambs (Beijing's mayor and the Minister of Health getting fired), China is still lying to their citizens and refuses to give them accurate information.
It's funny to see the Chinese government scramble to figure out the real extent of the spread of SARS. I mean last week Beijing claimed 37 people have been infected. A couple of days ago, after figuring there was a cover up, the number was about 10 times more. Today it's almost 600 people confirmed with SARS. My guess it that there's quite a few more sick.
When will their officials learn that the best way to govern a city/province/nation is to look out for the good of the people, not to try and look good in the face of higher officials? I guess when you build nepotism and corruption into a system of government, it will be difficult to get the right information.
Rather than telling the truth about a certain situation, officials seem to feel ashamed and like "they loose face" if they report any sort of bad news. How about be upfront and tell the bad news as it is and let everyone try to help figure out a solution.
Hopefully this sort of action by the top brass will lead to a shaking out of corrupt middle and lower bureaucrats and lead to a better run China...yeah good luck...