Another reader wrote, in response to a post on the Time article:
I suspect the story only uncovers the tip of an iceberg.
Back in mid-March, when the crisis first began in HK, I spoke to my chinese acupuncture doctor here in Vancouver. Apparently, both he and his wife were originally from Beijing. Their ex-colleagues and relatives working in Beijing local hospitals as well as the government said that the situation was quite serious even back in March.
Then, another business associate of my friend (also from Beijing) actually warned her back in Oct. 02, that there was a mysterious illness in BJ. This person who came to Vancouver two weeks ago also mentioned that the situation is getting worse.
I don’t want to spark off panic. But judging from a recent disinfection of five buildings in the diplomatic area soon after an ILO official died from SARS, I have good reason to suspect that it is far more serious than reported.
Anyway, I don’t trust the statistics in the media. I am also skeptical of the evidence that the WHO team are seeing. I know it must be very frustrating. And I can only wish you luck and be able to get out soon….
This hasn’t been verified (as though verification by the government makes something true; remember, there are no gays living in China and no VD) and I don’t know if it is the tip of an iceberg. My common sense tells me that if it were still a raging epidemic, not even the Chinese Central Government would have the balls to get on TV and state that the danger is over, especially with the WHO investigators breathing down their necks. But then, they always seem to surprise me. I am writing a backgrounder on AIDS in China, and what I have learned convinces me that the government here is capable of just about anything, as long as they believe it will help preserve their evil grip on power….
I only wish all of you could be here in Beijing to see to what extent life has become “all SARS all the time,” and then watch our TV news and its fantasyland “reporting.” You would see in a heartbeat just how bizarre a place China really is.
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