By Liu Xiaobo

(Clearwisdom.net)

Editor's note: The following article is written by a non-Falun Dafa practitioner and may not represent the understanding of Falun Dafa practitioners

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, human life is of paramount concern, which is common sense shared by all human beings. For a responsible government, when an epidemic that shocks the whole society happens during its reign, there is no reason why it should not treat it as a priority. As for the media who is responsible for providing truthful information to the public, in the face of an epidemic of such a multitude, there is no reason why they should not put the news on the headlines and continue reporting on it as the situation develops. There is absolutely no reason that they should hide the truth from the public. The experience of civilized societies has indicated that timely, accurately, and objectively providing information to the public is a social responsibility of the government and media. The truth will put an end to rumors and panic, and it will also make it easier to contain and control the epidemic.

As usual, whenever things like this happen, because the black box in which the one-party politics operates, the authorities first think about their self-interest and their power, instead of human life. Naturally, whenever an epidemic situation or incidents involving casualties happen, no matter what the party line is, no matter what the leaders say or do to show their utmost concern for the people, the purpose is to minimize the negative impact on the party power. Take the following incidents for example, the explosion at Fanlin Village Primary School, the Shijiazhuang City Explosion, the Nanjing Tangshan Township food poisoning incident, a series of disastrous mine explosions and the incident in Haicheng City where 3000 students suffered from poisoning, the victims of the these incidents were sacrificed for the party's power. All these incidents are results of party power supremacy. The Chinese government cannot shirk its responsibilities to the world for the spread of SARS. It only shows, once again, the barbaric nature of a dictator who disregards human lives -- not just lives of the citizens of its own country, but also those of other countries.

SARS broke out in November 2002, when the 16^th Party Congress opened its sessions. The party covered up the epidemic out of self-interest. In February 2003, some information was made public, but the media was silenced soon after, apparently in preparation for the upcoming 10^th "Two Conferences" [The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress]. The first SARS case in Beijing was found on March 1, but the information was hidden for the same reason. In early April, after the Ministry of Health publicized the epidemic situation, the central government issued directives requiring local governments to discourage the public from wearing masks. All work units in Beijing have received such directives that disregard public safety. The Xinhua News Agency even published an article saying that wearing masks had a negative impact on one's health. In Guangzhou where SARS originated, the municipal government forcibly forbade its citizens from wearing a mask in preparations for the coming of WHO officials. At the same time, the government not only did not cancel the Guangzhou Trade Fair, but also went on a blitz to promote the fact that it was safe to come to China and sent out a group of officials to invite investment all over China.

Before the pathogen of SARS is identified, no country can say that they have effectively contained the disease. Only officials from the Chinese Ministry of Health can shamelessly declare that "Everything is normal in Beijing and Guangdong. SARS has been under control and it is very safe for foreigners to visit China." The Chinese media even used the visit of WHO officials to promote the country, quoting the officials' praises of Guangzhou being "lovely and attractive" and their affirmation of the Chinese government's efforts in containing and controlling SARS, without mentioning the questioning and criticism by WHO about their handling of SARS. The most outrageous high-ranking official was Long Yongtu, who was quoted as saying that "if 500,000 people out of 6,000,000 got sick, I think it is reasonable to panic. But now only 300 people got sick. If Hong Kong reports the disease like this, who would come to Hong Kong?" To Hong Kong people who had enjoyed freedom, they value each individual instead of only seeing the overall economics of Hong Kong, and they are more concerned about health and life. Only officials bred out of a cold-blooded dictatorship can see economics, investment, and their own power as more important than human life. In comparison, the United States allowed 600 reporters to cover the war in Iraq, in which much national interest was at stake, and opened themselves up to potential criticism and judgments of media and governments around the world, as well as their own media in the USA. It indicates confidence, accountability and compassion on the part of the government. The Chinese government's cover-up and rejections of criticism can only demonstrate its weakness and its inhumane nature. It proves itself to be not only a threat to the safety of its citizens, but also to the international community.

Posting date: 5/5/2003
Original article date: 5/5/2003
Category: Open Forum
Translated on 4/23/2003
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/4/20/48706.html

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