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SARS Crisis
[News] [Papers]
President's Approval Rating
Drops to 27%, Survey Reveals
(AP, June 10, 2003) The Taiwanese leader's approval rating sank to a new low
of 27 percent, and 48 percent of those polled were dissatisfied with the
president's handling of the SARS outbreak.
SARS Impact
on China a Temporary Shock: World
Bank
(AFP, June 6, 2003) SARS will
have a temporary impact on China, but it is unclear whether the handling by
the authorities of the epidemic would affect investment decisions in the long
term.
China Gets Defensive on SARS
Record
(WP, May 31, 2003) In a significant shift of tone, the Chinese government
dismissed criticism that it was slow to respond to the SARS crisis, denying
it tried to hide the outbreak.
China and Tawian in Spat
over Sars
(Financial Times, May 25, 2003) Taiwan has declined an offer by China to help
the island in its fight against Sars - out of concern Beijing would use this
to back its claim of sovereignty over the island.
Taiwan Frustrated by
Beijing's WHA Blocks
(China Post, May 25, 2003) Taiwan's fight against "health
apartheid" has been further frustrated by Beijing, who has succeeded in
blocking the island's latest efforts at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
Some Say China's Response to
SARS Has Been Too Heavy-Handed
(NYT, May 23, 2003) Some scholars and media commentators say SARS did more to
expose the weaknesses of China's political culture than its strengths.
WHO Assembly Again Rejects
Taiwan Bid for Observer Status
(FT, May 20, 2003) Taiwan's bid to
secure observer status at the World Health Organisation, given increased
impetus this year by the island's devastating Sars outbreak, was again
rejected by the WHO.
Taiwan a SARS 'Loophole'
(CNN.com, May 20, 2003) As Taiwan struggles to contain the SARS virus
sweeping across the land, officials say the fact the island is not a member
of the World Health Organization has made their task harder.
SARS Furor Heightens
Taiwan-China Rift
(NYT, May 19, 2003) As a fight shapes up this coming week in Geneva over
whether the SARS epidemic will help win Taiwan a spot in the World Health Organization,
officials here are getting more strident.
MAC Survey Shows Support for
Restrictions
(Taipei Times, May 18, 2003) The poll also gauged public opinion on
China-bound investment and revealed that most people want restrictions to be
imposed on capital flight.
US to Support Taiwan's Bid
for WHO Observer Status
(AFP, May 17, 2003) The United States will speak up next week in favor of
Taiwan's bid for observer status at the World Health Organisation's annual
world health assembly, an official said.
SARS Stops `Small Three
Links' for a Month in Kinmen
(TT, May 17, 2003) The Mainland Affairs Council moved to temporarily suspend
the "small three links" in response to Kinmen residents' growing
concern over the spread of SARS.
Chen Calls on PRC to Act with
Sincerity
(Taiwan News, May 16, 2003) President Chen Shui-bian declared that the only
and best way China can prove its sincerity to help Taiwan is to cease
opposition to the country's entry into the World Health Organization.
Taiwan Braces for Long
Battle with Sars
(Financial Times, May 16, 2003) Taiwanese officials and medical experts
expect Sars to return periodically even if the current epidemic is brought
under control.
Beijing Fights Taiwan WHO
Entry
(CNN.com, May 14, 2003) Beijing has raised strong objections to international
support for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization as an
observer.
Taiwanese President Suggests
Hospital Covered Up Disease
(WP, May 13, 2003) President Chen Shui-bian said that a municipal hospital
linked to as many as two-thirds of Taiwan's SARS cases may have tried to
cover up the outbreak.
Sars Protests Hit China
(Financial Times, May 12, 2003) Chinese police have detained the alleged
ringleaders of a rowdy protest by more than 300 people in the northern city
of Tianjin after a demonstration by those fearing Sars.
Taiwan Military Chem-weapons
Unit Exposed in SARS Fight
(AFP, May 11, 2003) A mysterious military unit involved in Taiwan's research
of biochemical warfare has come to light following President Chen Shui-bian's
orders that it devote itself to battling SARS.
Taiwan Cites SARS in Bid to
Join WHO
(WP, May 10, 2003) The Taiwanese government is using its efforts to contain
the disease as a way to argue that it should be part of the WHO.
Angry Chinese Riot over SARS
(CNN.com, May 6, 2003) Riots have broken out in eastern China over the
quarantine of suspected SARS cases, in one of the most violent protests to
hit China since the outbreak became headline news.
Taiwan Says WHO Membership
Vital to SARS Battle
(Reuters, May 6, 2003) Taiwan said its exclusion from the WHO is a gaping
hole in the global campaign to combat the flu-like SARS virus.
Beijing to Allow WHO to Send
Team to Taiwan
(WP, May 4, 2003) China agreed to allow the World Health Organization to send
a team to Taiwan to investigate the island's worsening SARS situation.
China's Economy to Grow
Rapidly Despite SARS
(People’s Daily, May 1, 2003) China's economy will still grow by 7.3 percent
this year and 7.6 percent next year despite the impact of SARS, according to
an Asian Development Bank report.
SARS Inciting 'Mass Panic'
In Beijing
(WP, May 1, 2003) The SARS epidemic in Beijing is causing "mass
panic," and efforts to fight it are plagued by a lack of hospital beds
and trained health professionals, the city's new acting mayor said.
Taiwan Gets Tough on
Visitors
(CNN.com, Apr. 28, 2003) Authorities in Taiwan have announced that all
mainland-Chinese and Hong Kong travelers arriving on the self-ruled island
must be put on a 10-day quarantine.
Sars Sends Asian Economies
into Downward Spiral
(FT, Apr. 27, 2003) The OECD warned this week that the overall economic
fallout for the worst affected Asian countries could be significant.
Taiwan Economy Struggles
with Sisease
(Bloomberg News, Apr. 25, 2003) Taiwan's benchmark stock index posted its
biggest drop in almost nine months after the government reported the island's
largest one-day rise in atypical pneumonia cases.
MAC to Attempt to Cut Down
on Cross-Strait Travel
(Taipei Times, Apr. 24, 2003) In the face of the threat of SARS, the Mainland
Affairs Council can only attempt to decrease cross-strait traffic, since it
is impossible to completely bar all travelers from China.
Senator Lauds China's Turnabout
on SARS
(WP, Apr. 24, 2003) Chinese President Hu Jintao told a delegation of
U.S. senators the situation was a "disaster for the people of China and
all of mankind."
China Economy to Slow as
SARS Hits
(Reuters, Apr. 21, 2003) China's admission that the SARS virus is far more
widespread than previously acknowledged is taking the shine off an economy
that has been the envy of the region.
In China's Capital, 'We're
Panicking'
(WP, Apr. 18, 2003) There were moments when this city of 13 million people
appeared deserted. Suddenly, China's capital is confronting the reality of
the SARS virus .
SARS Does Little to Slow
China's Growth By Chris Buckley
(New York Times, July 11, 2003) Surging exports and industrial production
last month showed that China's economy was still bounding ahead, apparently
little damaged by the SARS epidemic.
Political Maneuvering over
SARS Causes Renewed Diplomatic Fighting By Philippe Paquet
(Taipei Journal, June 27, 2003) Relations between Beijing and Taipei will
suffer again, whereas, paradoxically, health should be the one issue on which
collaboration between the two governments is possible.
China's Leaders Step Up to
Challenge of SARS, But Will It Last?
(AFP, June 17, 2003) After a rocky start China's new leaders responded
decisively and dynamically to control SARS, but analysts are unsure whether
the crisis will be a catalyst for a more modern style of government.
SARS-Weary Beijing Looking
to New Issues By Francesco Sisci
(Asia Times, June 10, 2003) In this time of waning SARS cases, Chinese
President Hu Jintao is being simultaneously pulled in several directions as
issues unrelated to the illness are re-emerging in China's political
landscape.
Three Approaches to Three
Crises By Nat Bellocchi
(Taipei Times, June 3, 2003) A sudden national crisis can make or break a
political leader. Chinese President Hu Jintao has China's system to give him
control of party and media. President Chen Shui-bian has had to struggle with
both.
SARS Ebbs in East Asia, but
Financial Recovery Is Slow By Keith Bradsher
(New York Times, May 31, 2003) While SARS infections have ebbed across East
Asia, the economic consequences will continue to be felt for months to come,
according to business executives and economists.
Taiwan and the SARS Blame
Game By Michael Taylor
(Asia Times, May 30, 2003) SARS and the government's (mis)management of the outbreak
now appear likely to be a major political issue with implications for next
year's presidential election.
A Positive SARS Side-Effect
By Antoaneta
Bezlova
(Asia Times, May 27, 2003) China's tardy tackling of the epidemic might have a positive side-effect -
and force its leaders to confront the country's lopsided reforms in public
health.
The Politics of SARS
(Editorial, China Post, May 25, 2003) In Taiwan, anything can be politicized.
This includes SARS. While it is true that SARS originates from mainland
China, it is not true to say that Taiwan's outbreak is the result of
cross-strait interchanges.
SARS: Taiwan Thinks the
Unthinkable By Michael Taylor
(Asia Times, May 20, 2003) SARS has highlighted many of Taiwan's trends and characteristics,
and perhaps chief among these from an economic standpoint is the nation's
interdependence with China.
Hu Uses SARS to Tighten Grip
By Willy Lam
(CNN.com, May 20, 2003) There is more evidence that Chinese President Hu
Jintao is moving fast to establish his authority through burnishing his
liberal credentials.
What's Needed: Leadership
(Editorial, China Post, May 20, 2003) President Chen must assert his much
wanted leadership, before it is too late, to achieve a national unity of
purpose in Taiwan's anti-SARS war.
Diagnosing SARS in China
(Editorial, New York Times, May 19, 2003) China's ossified political system
is out of sync with China's globalized, market-driven economy. It is also
directly responsible for Beijing's initial response to SARS.
Hu Tightens Grip with
Anti-SARS Campaign By Benjamin Lim
(Reuters, May 19, 2003) Seizing opportunity from crisis over the SARS
epidemic, Chinese President Hu Jintao is emerging from his first real test as
the nation's new leader with a surer grip on power.
Here's How a Tiny Virus Can
Help Improve Cross-Strait Ties By Alastair Iain
Johnston
(Straits Times, May 17, 2003) Beijing now sees Taiwan's participation in the
WHO as a zero-sum issue. But with a little creative thinking, the standoff
could be changed into a win-win outcome.
Can China's System Cope with
Openness? By Ching Cheong
(Straits Times, May 17, 2003) Commentators tripping over each other to depict
the Sars outbreak as China's Chernobyl may be indulging in wishful thinking.
Give Taiwan WHO Status
By Eugene Chien
(International Herald Tribune, May 16, 2003) Taiwan's participation would
close a major gap in the WHO's defenses against diseases. We call on the
international community to recognize that this can only benefit the health of
all.
Building New Chinese Walls
By Ben Dolven and
David Murphy
(Far Eastern Economic Review, May 22, 2003) Cities, towns and villages are
taking the battle against Sars into their own hands.
SARS Only a Temporary
Setback to China's Economy: Economists
(Agence France Presse, May 14, 2003) SARS may have brought whole sectors of
China's booming economy to a grinding halt but analysts predict that the
impact will be temporary and not jeopardise its long-term growth.
Party Bickering Hampers SARS
Fight By Willy Lam
(CNN.com, May 13, 2003) "China is publicizing only half the SARS figures
because just half the Politburo is fighting the epidemic," so goes a
saying in Beijing's political circles.
SARS Shakes Complacent Mood
of China By Erik Eckholm
(New York Times, May 13, 2003) The SARS epidemic and its obvious mishandling
have badly humbled China's leaders at home and abroad, and jolted the society
in many ways.
SARS Crisis a Jolt for
China's Body Politic By Mark Harrison
(Canberra Times, May 12, 2003) The way the SARS crisis has exposed the
failings of authoritarianism and the need for open and disinterested public
administration has been interpreted as a possible catalyst for political
reform in China.
China Points Finger at U.S.
for SARS
(Editorial, Taiwan News, May 11, 2003) An article appearing in the May 6
edition of the Hong Kong newspaper Wenweipo speculates that SARS actually
originated in the United States.
China Showing Signs of
Long-Awaited Change By Benjamin Lim
(Reuters, May 10, 2003) Analysts see a change of heart in the Beijing
leadership over the SARS crisis and a submarine disaster.
Help Taiwan Fight SARS
By Chen Shui-bian
(Washington Post, May 9, 2003) The WHO's decision to send these experts to
Taiwan has great significance. It demonstrates that Taiwan is indispensable
to international public health. But it also suggests that cooperation between
the WHO and Taiwan should not be left to ad hoc arrangements.
A Shift in China's
Leadership Style? By Joshua Eisnman
(Straits Times, May 8, 2003) China's disjointed system of power distribution
and transition - where the new leader must co-exist with his predecessor -
leaves the country open to confusion during a crisis.
China's Poor Left Behind
By Joshua Muldavin
(International Herald Tribune, May 8, 2003) The spread of severe acute
respiratory syndrome to China's hinterlands is a human-made disaster.
Beijing Leaders
Fighting
for Credit
Over
Opening
Up
(Editorial, China Post, May 7, 2003) Never before has the mainland public's
yearning for political reform and opening up drawn greater support, in words
and deeds, from top leaders in Beijing than it is now.
China 's Health Care
Disaster By David M. Lampton
(Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2003) If both Chinese and foreign observers
become obsessed with the politics of the recent SARS cover-up, they will lose
sight of the underlying causes of China 's health-care system train wreck.
Threat to China's Social
Stability By Ching Cheong
(Straits Times, May 6, 2003) Fuelled by sensationalist reporting in the
media, panic is sweeping the nation's poorer, less-educated rural regions.
Is China Opening Up or
Closing? By Orville Schell
(Taipei Times, May 06, 2003) China's response to the SARS suggests an almost
automatic defensiveness when the outside world seems to impinge on it or
threaten it in some potentially harmful or embarrassing way.
China & SARS: Unhealthy
Politics By Roderick Macfarquhar
(Newsweek, May 12, 2003) China’s SARS epidemic has its Communist Party
leaders on their heels. Worse is the image of China’s leaders behaving in
feckless fashion, putting politics before people.
When Crises Strike, China's
Leaders Adapt to Survive By Joseph Kahn
(New York Times, May 4, 2003) Despite commentary to the contrary, SARS, or
severe acute respiratory syndrome, does not look as if it will become China's
Chernobyl.
Dear Beijing, Don't Block
Taipei - For Global Health's Sake By Tom Plate
(Straits Times, May 3, 2003) What is now paramount for world health,
obviously, is universality of participation in all global health efforts.
It's patently clear that Taiwan should be admitted to the WHO.
China's Economy: Can It
Muscle Through SARS?
(Far Eastern Economic Review, May 18, 2003) For all the panic that Sars has
generated, it hasn't fundamentally undermined China's economy. If the
government can still get a grip on the disease, the long-term disruption
won't be large.
China Feels Side Effects
From SARS By John Pomfret
(Washington Post, May 2, 2003) The mishandling of the SARS crisis is feeding tentative
calls for political reform in China and has exacerbated a broad power
struggle among current and former Communist leaders.
Panic Outbreak Won't Stop
Trade By John Berthelsen
(Asia Times, May 1, 2003) Investors appear to have attached an incredibly
high risk premium to this event, compared with mainland military exercises
over the Taiwan Strait or the collapse of financial markets in 1997.
Why Taiwan Deserves A Place
in Bangkok Today By Ho Khai Leong
(Straits Times, Apr. 29, 2003) Asian policy-makers need to rethink this
strategy of exclusion, and recognise the importance of concerted effort from
everyone in the region.
Turning A Crisis into An
Opportunity By Willy Lam
(CNN.com, Apr. 29, 2003) The new president could yet turn the crisis caused
by the pneumonia outbreak into an opportunity by getting rid of more bad
apples among cadres.
Outbreak of Disease Forces
Steep Plunge in Chinese Economy By Keith Bradsher
(New York Times, Apr. 28, 2003) The outbreak of a new respiratory disease has
inflicted the greatest blow to the Chinese, causing a plunge in retail sales,
a slump in demand for some Chinese exports and a near-collapse in domestic
and foreign tourism.
SARS tests Communist rule in
China By Wei Jingsheng
(International Herald Tribune, Apr. 28, 2003) More than a shame, it would be
an historic mistake to pass up this opportunity to make China's leaders
accountable to their own people and to the world at large.
China's Crisis Has A
Political Edge By John Pomfret
(Washington Post, Apr. 27, 2003) Central government officials said they
received more cooperation from the province of Guangdong, which for decades
has had a reputation for unruliness.
China: SARS Spurs Structural
Reform By Francesco Sisci
(Asia Times, Apr. 27, 2003) SARS will not and could not be China's Chernobyl.
But it is already triggering a complex process of structural reforms that
will go in the direction of more internal democratization and greater power
given to the party and state organization.
Just How Badly Will China's
Economy Get Hit? By Chua Chin Hon
(Straits Times, Apr. 26, 2003) China's economy could bleed billions of
dollars and grow at its lowest rate in 12 years because of the Sars outbreak
- or emerge relatively unscathed and still beat the official forecast of 7
per cent.
Red Faced: China's U-Turn On
Sars Endangers Hu And The Party By Susan V. Lawrence
(Far Eastern Economic Review, May 1, 2003) To limit political damage from the
Sars scandal, China's leaders had to publicly recognize political
accountability and the people's right to know. But the tension between their
promises and reality is showing as the toll grows.
Help China Heal And We Are
Healed By Chang Kuo-Cheng
(Taipei Times, Apr. 25, 2003) Just as President Chen Shui-bian said,
providing humanitarian care and assistance to the other is the best way to
ensure Taiwan's interests and safety.
Sars and China
(Editorial, Straits Times, Apr. 24, 2003) The campaign to overcome Sars, in
Singapore as elsewhere in South-east Asia, cannot be considered won until
China manages to bring the outbreak under control.
Lessons from China's SARS
Debacle By Willy Lam
(CNN.com, Apr. 24, 2003) Despite last Sunday's sacking of two
ministerial-level cadres for covering up the pneumonia epidemic, the Hu
Jintao leadership needs to do a lot more to promote the culture of
truth-telling and full disclosure.
SARS CRISIS: Don't Rule Out
Linkages To China's Biowarfare By Richard Fisher
(China Brief, Jamestown Foundation, Apr. 22, 2003) There are compelling
reasons, however unsettling, to at least ask whether there might be any
linkage between SARS and China's biological warfare efforts.
Epidemic Is a 'Test' For
China's Leadership By John Pomfret
(Washington Post, Apr. 22, 2003) With the removal of two senior officials for
mishandling the SARS epidemic, China's new government has broken with past
practice.
China Will Pay Dearly for
the SARS Debacle By Bates Gill
(International Herald Tribune, Apr. 22, 2003) Beijing's evasive and tardy
response to the challenge of the SARS virus reflects very poorly on China's
international standing, undermines its economic prospects and bodes ill for
combating other infectious diseases.
China's Bureaucracy: A
Virus's Best Friend By Francesco Sisci
(Asia Times, Apr. 22, 2003) Beijing's evolving attitude toward SARS is a
prime example of the flaws in the Chinese political system.
China's Political About-Turn
on Openness Comes Under Scrutiny
(Financial Times, Apr. 22, 2003) When China's premier promised the nation in
his inaugural news conference in March that despite his mild manners he was a
man who "dared to take responsibility", he cannot have expected
that his mettle would be tested so soon.
Leadership: How to Fail The
People By Susan V. Lawrence
(Far Eastern Economic Review, Apr. 24, 2003) The new leaders promised better,
but did worse than their elders in their first big crisis. In this fiasco,
the economy and the well-being of foreigners seem more important than public
health.
China's Deadliest Plague:
Authoritarianism By Mark Clifford
(Business Weeks, Apr. 18, 2003) Beijing's ham-fisted handling of the SARS
crisis demonstrates why democratic reform is a matter of life and death.
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