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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a crisis that also brings with it opportunities.
Properly dealt with, it will not significantly impede China's social, economic and political development. Instead, it can offer a new opportunity for the country's reform and development.
A new leadership came into power in March and the Chinese economy stepped into a new stage of rapid development.
Yet SARS attacked this country at the same time. Since the first SARS patient appeared in South China's Guangdong Province last November, most provinces have reported cases.
Realizing the seriousness of SARS, the Chinese Government decided starting April 20 to release information every day on the epidemic situation.
Inspection teams have been sent to various regions across the country and officials who have failed to issue accurate reports have been punished.
The State Council set up the SARS Control and Prevention Headquarters on April 23 to direct and co-ordinate work. Vice-Premier Wu Yi was appointed chief director. The Ministry of Health established a special fund to fight SARS. Curbing SARS was thus put on top of the government agenda.
A clear understanding of its seriousness and a proper handling of the issue can lay a solid foundation for solving the problem.
There are many measures a government can apply to deal with public issues. Indirect policy measures include guiding and making requests of citizens, non-governmental organizations and institutions, such as suggesting that people wash their hands frequently, ventilate rooms, avoid crowds, cancel trips, go to hospitals once any symptoms appear and remain calm.
Other measures are to provide information directly to the public, especially concerning the epidemic situation. The government has done a good job in taking indirect measures but was deficient in providing epidemic information in the early stages for fear of arousing public panic. This left Beijing and governments at all levels unprepared for the outbreak of the epidemic.
All confirmed SARS cases have been reported since April 20. This gives the masses a large-scale picture of the epidemic situation.
But there is a lack of detailed information about the progress of virological research into the disease, which will help people get the general picture and developing trends of the epidemic.
Only when general and detailed information is combined can people really feel safe, build their confidence and avoid panic.
Accurate overall information helps build the government's credibility but insufficient detailed information to complement that will surely lead to fear, panic buying and people fleeing certain parts of the country.
There are also many possible direct policy measures.
The most important is administration by law: adopting legal procedures to collect information, control epidemic-stricken areas and manage and confiscate resources.
China issued the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Epidemics in 1989 but it was not properly used when SARS cases were first found because SARS is a new disease. Though SARS had already become a national issue by the end of March, the investigation and control of the disease and the issuing of medication for it were still done at local level. If the local authorities had had sufficient power, the epidemic would have been controlled at regional level.
But the fact is that local power is limited when it comes defining public issues and choosing and enforcing policy plans. Only the State Council and Ministry of Health have the power to include a new contagious disease under the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Epidemics. But it seems that, when cases are restricted to one area such as Guangdong Province, this is not enough to bring them to do so.
Local governments could only use the law as a reference point for preventing and curing SARS but could not take sufficient direct policy measures.
Eventually, on April 8, the Ministry of Health listed SARS as a statutory epidemic as the situation worsened, especially in Beijing.
Local authorities were then required to report any cases. The epidemic had already started spreading at that time.
The SARS crisis has shown that centralized policies are insufficient for dealing with emergencies.
Government power is highly centralized in dealing with public issues, which has resulted in valuable time being lost to deal with local problems.
The Chinese Government has been operating in a more open way in the past few years, but limited experience means there is still some lingering when it comes to the choice between openly issuing information or controlling information.
Take the SARS crisis as an example. Information about the epidemic situation was controlled at first, which only led to rampant rumours and loss of control over the disease later.
Then, due to public pressure, general information was released but not together with detailed information.
Problems also emerged in the collection and release of the data, which did not help the situation but made it worse in some ways.
This was because the government had no clear idea of how to provide information, especially that needed by the public and information that would help solve the problems.
Development of civil society is limited and grassroots self-management is underdeveloped. This means fewer helping hands when dealing with urgent public problems.
Further action should be taken to prevent any future spread of disease.
The government should pay more attention to managing public affairs, solving public problems and providing services to the public.
It should use legal measures to curb the epidemic, which will help avoid problems related to mere administrative orders.
In addition to the convenience of the administration and the requirements of international organizations, the needs of local people should be taken into consideration when providing information.
Local governments and medical systems should be given greater power of self-determination, while unnecessary controls should be lifted. Non-governmental organizations should be given greater support and opportunities. The government should encourage special funds for work on this issue.
The relationship between various levels of government working to prevent and curb epidemics should be clarified.
Accordingly, their roles in dealing with other public issues can be defined. This will provide precious experience for setting up a public-service mechanism in the future.
Co-operation with the international community should be promoted. The Chinese Government should provide information to international organizations and ask other countries for technical assistance or humanitarian donations. Fighting SARS is not only a matter for the Chinese people but also a cause of the whole of humankind. It is important to turn to international co-operation mechanisms to deal with epidemics such as SARS.
If the above actions are carried out, the SARS epidemic can be curbed within the shortest possible time, confidence will be built and the system in place for dealing rapidly with public issues can be improved. Government reform will then advance considerably and China's social development can catch up with the country's economic growth.
The author is a professor of public administration with Beijing's Renmin University of China.
(China Daily May 13, 2003)
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