There is nothing new under the sun, looking at pneumonia from SARS

I found an interesting thing:

It is clear that there is a pneumonia outbreak in China, but the pages of the Chinese media (such as People's Daily, Global Times, etc.) seem to be unconcerned, and only write an article like "The Chairman's Instructions to Stabilize the Epidemic" to appease the hearts of the people.

Looking at the Japanese media in turn, it is clear that only one patient has been detected in Japan and that he has been discharged from the hospital and recovered, but the headlines are crowded with the epidemic.

Looking back at the Chinese media, about "how many people were diagnosed, how many people died", etc., you can only read the article "Xi Jinping's instructions to stabilize the epidemic" and scroll to the bottom.

The Japanese media clearly and clearly wrote the headline as "Wuhan pneumonia, 4 people died." At a glance, it attracted the attention of the people. In addition, the death toll and the number of confirmed cases are updated faster than the Chinese media. Earlier than today, Wuhan just announced that the fourth person died, and the Japanese media quickly published it. China's online public opinion and media still remain at yesterday's data.

Some Japanese companies, such as Softbank, Nippon Steel, and SONY have instructed some employees to work from home and cancel unnecessary business trips. Instead, they watch live broadcasts by Japanese media. The streets and hospitals in Wuhan are full of citizens who don’t even wear masks. Surprisingly.

You said that the Chinese media and government did not cover up the report and the evening news, but I don't believe it.

In 2002, when SARS broke out in China, then Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang said to the gathering of outside media reporters: "Beijing has only 12 cases of SARS and 3 deaths. SARS in China has been effectively controlled." He further said: " Everyone is welcome to travel and negotiate business in China, I guarantee everyone's safety, it is safe to wear a mask or not."

Jiang Yanyong from the 301 Hospital of course denied it. When he saw the news at the time, as a front-line doctor, as far as he knew, there were more than 100 cases in only 3 hospitals, and the death toll had reached 9. Zhang Wenkang was lying.

Jiang Yanyong sent an email to CCTV 4 and Phoenix Satellite TV to explain the situation:

Yesterday, the Chinese Minister of Health said at a press conference that the Chinese government has taken the SARS problem very seriously and that the disease is now under control. But in the figures he provided later, there were 12 cases of SARS in Beijing and 3 deaths. I couldn't believe it after reading it.

I went to the ward today, and all the doctors and nurses were very angry when they saw yesterday's news. So I am sending this letter to all of you, hoping that you will also work hard to be responsible for human life and health, and use the honest voice of journalists to join the fight against SARS.

The materials I provide are all true and I take all responsibility.

After a few days, he heard nothing. But reporters from The Wall Street Journal and Time magazine approached Jiang Yanyong and interviewed him. The Times reporter asked Jiang Yanyong whether the data was accurate, and Jiang Yanyong replied: The figures are confirmed by several doctors and are very reliable, and I take full responsibility for them. The reporter suggested that he could not sign. He told me that unsigned messages were far less credible and that I should have signed them. The reporter asked again if I had considered the consequences of doing so. He said, 'I'm telling the truth and there is a constitution to protect me. But I also prepared for the worst.

The constitution does not protect this person who dares to stand up and tell the truth, and even now, Jiang Yanyong has not obtained permission to go abroad.

That night, the incident spread in foreign media. Dozens of media including Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, DPA, Kyodo News, BBC, CNN, VOA, etc. all called to interview Jiang Yanyong. . News is also randomly published online.

The next day, the hospital leaders went to Jiang Yanyong’s house to talk twice. The hospital leaders interviewed him by foreign media. First of all, they affirmed that his motives and starting points were good, but as a soldier, doing so violated the relevant disciplines of the military. Re-contact with foreign media.

Jiang Yanyong replied: "I didn't know there was such a regulation at first, but I will discuss it with the hospital in advance. At the same time, after reading Zhang Wenkang's speech, you must think he is wrong. Zhang Liping, Minister Wang and others have retired. They can tell the truth. Our country has suffered a lot from telling lies in the past, and I hope you can tell the truth as much as possible in the future.”

A few days later, the WHO began to investigate in China, focusing on visiting military hospitals, so there was the following ridiculous scene:

"After the arrival of the WHO, the 302 hospital transferred most of the patients admitted to the Third Hospital of the Armed Police. In the first ward of the 302 hospital (specialized for the treatment of patients with respiratory infectious diseases), only a few mild and suspected cases were left in the first and second wards. For some patients who are still seriously ill, they are temporarily placed in Ward No. 2 (specialized for the treatment of gastrointestinal infectious diseases) Ward 3. At the same time, 309 Hospital transfers most of the 60 patients that have been treated to a hotel on the street that is temporarily changed to admit patients. The WHO’s visit to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital was given a temporary notice. Their director put most of the patients into multiple ambulances, assigned medical staff, and drove to the street. The director of the Union Hospital also received the notice. , only one confirmed case and one suspected case can be reported, so other patients had to be loaded into ambulances, and medical staff were dispatched to the streets." This is what Jiang Yanyong learned.

Even if the government tried every means to conceal the facts, Jiang Yanyong's foreign media interviews and the WHO investigation in China still completely exposed it. Only then did the government really take decent measures:

On April 17, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened the Politburo Standing Committee. At the meeting, Hu Jintao emphasized that no one should conceal or lie about the epidemic.

On April 20, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. Gao Qiang, the new executive vice minister of the Ministry of Health, confirmed that there were 339 confirmed SARS cases and 402 suspected cases in Beijing. On the same day, Xinhua News Agency announced that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China “removed Zhang Wenkang from the post of Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Health; and removed Meng Xuenong from the post of Deputy Secretary, Standing Committee and Member of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee”.

Most contemporary Chinese have a particularly lame view:

They believe in foreign milk powder and foreign vaccines, but they do not believe in foreign media.

Even in this pneumonia incident, I still see many people on the Chinese Internet who point out the problem being attacked by some Chinese netizens, accusing them of not trusting the country and the government. But I am fortunate that some people dare to stand up, dare to question, and dare to pursue the truth. If it weren't for the existence of these people, the government might not have organized experts to discuss and let the people know the real epidemic data, and continued to say that the virus "has no signs of human-to-human transmission, so don't worry."

I hope more Chinese people dare to question the truth,

I hope that just citizens can get the honor they deserve,

I hope that press freedom will gain attention in China,

I hope the government will dare to change its past and defeat the pneumonia.