Nation & world briefing
China denies cover-up of new disease
Michael Dorgan
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
BEIJING — Faced with mount
ing criticism of China’s sluggish re
sponse to a deadly new respiratory
virus, a government spokesman on
Tuesday denied a cover-up and
lashed out at critics.
“We have nothing to hide,” For
eign Ministry spokesman Liu Jian
cho said at a press conference
where he was peppered with ques
tions about the epidemic of severe
acute respiratory syndrome, or
SARS, which began in southern
China in November and has
spread to more than a dozen coun
tries, including the United States.
“We have made tremendous
efforts to control the disease,”
Liu said.
Liu’s comments came a day af
ter the Asian Wall Street Journal
published an editorial calling for
other countries to cut all travel
links to China until it more aggres
sively combats the epidemic,
which has severely sickened 1,804
people worldwide, killing 62.
“Given Beijing’s refusal to take
even elementary public health
measures, a difficult decision must
be made,” the editorial said. “The
most effective way to halt the
spread of the disease would be for
other countries to suspend all
travel links with China until Bei
jing has implemented a public
health campaign.”
It’s unlikely that countries will
cut off travel to China. But sever
al countries, including the United
States, have issued warnings
about travel to China and other
Asian destinations hard hit by
the epidemic.
On Tuesday, an American Air
lines flight from Tokyo was
quarantined at San Jose, Califor
nia’s Mineta airport after five
people complained of SARS-like
symptoms.
Japan has no confirmed SARS
cases.
Liu, the Chinese government
spokesman, said travel warnings
were unnecessary. He said foreign
tourists and business travelers
were “safe in China” because “the
disease is well under control.”
As Liu defended China’s re
sponse to the new disease, the first
documented cases of which ap
peared in China’s southern Guang
dong Province, a team of World
Health Organization experts that
had been dispatched to Beijing
twiddled their thumbs awaiting
crucial data and clearances from
the Chinese government.
“I can’t explain the slowness
right now for more up-to-date sur
veillance numbers,” team-mem
ber Dr. Robert Breiman, an infec
tious disease specialist, said in
an interview.
Breiman and four other WHO
experts arrived in Beijing more
than a week ago.
Yet he said Tuesday evening that
Chinese officials had still not pro
vided them any data on cases that
have occurred in Guangdong dur
ing the past month.
Equally frustrating to Breiman
and his colleagues, Chinese offi
cials still had not approved an ur
gent request made Friday to allow
team members to travel to Guang
dong to conduct what they de
scribe as essential on-site research
into the origin and transmission of
the virus.
Experts believe the virus be
longs to the coronavirus family,
which typically attacks animals
but not humans. But much more
must be known about the new
strain, they say, before it can be
effectively contained.
China’s official silence prevailed
until last Wednesday, when the
government disclosed that there
had been nearly 800 cases in
Guangdong, including 31 deaths,
as of “late February.” The govern
ment also disclosed 10 cases, in
cluding three deaths, in Beijing.
Since the arrival of the WHO
team in Beijing early last week, the
number of BARS cases in Hong
Kong, a so-called special adminis
trative region of China,, has ex
ploded to more than 600, causing
15 deaths and near panic.
All Hong Kong schools have
closed, and more than 2,000 peo
ple are in quarantine. Tourists
have fled, flights have been can
celed and hotel occupancies have
plunged — raising fears of dire
economic consequences.
Many suspect that China hoped
to avoid such economic conse
quences by imposing a virtual
news blackout on the epidemic
and withholding data from the
global coalition of health groups
combating the outbreak.
No data on the epidemic in Chi
na was released until Feb. 10,
when Guangdong officials dis
closed 305 cases of SARS, includ
ing five deaths.
On Friday, the WHO team
called a press conference to an
nounce that their negotiations
had produced a breakthrough and
that Chinese officials had agreed
to provide timely data on all cases
in China.
Late Tuesday, the team was still
waiting.
© 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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Court
continued from page 4
“Do you doubt that it’s an is
sue?” asked Justice Stevens.
Kolbo said he could not com
ment because the matter had not
been an issue in the actual Michi
gan case.
“Are you serious, that you think
we can’t take that seriously
(in this case)?” asked Justice
David Souter.
“We have no problem if they
cast a wider net for recruiting or
for outreach,” said Kilbo, “as long
as they apply an equal standard at
the point of competition.”
Of particular concern to several
justices was the role of “critical
mass” in the university’s process.
Mahoney described critical mass
as a percentage of minorities that
is high enough to allow them com
fort among themselves.
Several, including Justices
Stephen Breyer and Scalia, strug
gled with the term “critical mass.”
Both asked Mahoney and Payton
what percentage of underrepre
sented minorities would fit that
definition. Neither would say.
Both said the university is most
comfortable with a minority stu
dent population ranging from 8
percent to 12 percent. Justice
Scalia said the figure suggests a 10
percent threshold.
“You use that term ‘critical
mass’ and you’re in quota land,”
Justice Scalia said.
© 2003, The Dallas Morning News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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