HONG KNG -- In the end, it took the Chinese Communist Party's nine-member Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) 5 1/2 months to take a public stand on handling the current atypical pneumonia crisis with much greater openness. Guangdong Province experienced the first outbreak of the previously unknown disease early in November last year, but it was only on April 17 that the PSC came out strongly for a more frank and forthright handling of the spreading contagion.
The belated PSC statement read out on Chinese TV insisted that "leaders and cadres at all levels should have an accurate account of the epidemic situation, faithfully reporting to the public on a regular basis. . . . There should be no delay in reporting, and no coverups."
Had this edict been delivered in late November or early December, and had it been obeyed, then the global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) would have been more quickly countered. Very likely, fewer would then have died of the disease, and SARS would have had reduced medical, economic and political impact.