Page updated:
Monday, 13 August 2007

SARS - the Beijing street...

COMMUNICATION 2: Beijing - the wash-up... after ten weeks of crisis

I again contacted Yvonne a month and a half later on to find out how the city and its people had coped with the outbreak of a disease new to humanity.

Sydney, 26 June 2003, 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time...

Russ: With the number of people with SARS in decline, are people getting out onto the streets of Beijing more?

Yvonne: As the numbers of confirmed SARS cases in Beijing and throughout China declined, people in the streets exhibited less signs of fear, got out more, and fewer were seen wearing masks. There are still lower numbers of shoppers in the supermarkets and the markets but the government is encouraging citizens to do more outdoor exercise (free community exercise equipment has been erected in many residential areas in recent years), encouraging outdoor concerts and social gatherings and extending the opening hours of parks and open-air historic sites such as the Summer Palace from 6am to 9pm.

Russ: I believe that the epidemic has also affected weddings.

Yvonne: Tthere has been a great drop in the number of weddings being held in Beijing. A marriage in China, unlike in the West, takes place in two different stages on two different occasions, often months apart. 'Registration' of the marriage, giving the couple official 'wedded' status, is a mere formality. This means going to a government office and getting the 'papers'. This can take place ages before the 'wedding party' or reception, which is considered to be the 'true wedding', although the couple have been legally wed since signing their official papers.

No new 'registrations' were allowed during the SARS outbreak. Of two engaged couples I know (American woman, Chinese man), one pair postponed their plans while the other is now going ahead with their reception. Of the couples who were officially married prior to the epidemic and who planned to hold their Beijing wedding receptions in Spring (a 'golden season' for such events), or on May Day (May 1, a popular date) an estimated 90% chose to postpone the party until later in the year. Sometimes this was by personal choice, sometimes because the restaurant they booked for their reception had cancelled all large parties.

Russ: Does the public believe the national and city governments are taking sufficient and effective action?

Yvonne: Basically, yes, in the cities. But outsiders were unwelcome in the countryside, so it was difficult to judge the feeling there. Village leaders took strong measures to prevent the entry of non-residents; and neighborhood committees constantly checked the temperatures of all residents, sometimes three times a day.

In some country villages the residents forcibly prevented the state from building SARS hospitals in the area. Students studying in the cities were mostly been quarantined on their campuses, and prevented from returning to their homes or villages during the ten week crisis.

Although this can be considered a drastic action that may challenge human rights, it was seen here as an effective and positive action taken by the government. The nation-wide college entrance exam, for which 80 000 participants traveled to Beijing to sit, took place as scheduled on 7 - 8 June. The fact that this important exam went ahead gave people the assurance that the government had taken correct actions to control SARS.

Russ: How does the Chinese media report SARS? Is the reporting open? Do they report independently or parrot the government line?

Yvonne: SARS was reported every day on the front page of most publications, including the English language China Daily newspaper. Reports included graphs and easy-to-read charts containing the latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Health. These showed the latest numbers of SARS cases confirmed and suspected and the number of deaths that occurred on the Chinese mainland, in Taiwan, Hong Kong and also in Beijing. The WHO was also frequently quoted.

The Chinese government owns the media here, so of course there may be a 'government line', but semi-legal publications, such as English language magazines like City Weekend and That's Beijing also independently reported on SARS with no government interference. In City Weekend magazine (May 8-21) there was a story entitled "Panic on the Streets" which mentioned panic buying of instant noodles and unfounded rumors of martial law.

Russ: Are people still wearing ineffective types of mask? Has the government or whoever is responsible distributed proper masks?

Yvonne: People continued to wear masks though the numbers of those doing so dropped by the end of the crisis! I caught a bus on Wednesday 21st May and counted four people among the 20 or so passengers wearing gauze masks. Three (a young man and an elderly couple) wore them over their noses and mouths, the fourth, a young woman, had hers pulled down and slung under her chin! Neither the bus driver nor the conductor wore masks.

In KFC and McDonalds all employees had been told to wear masks. About one in ten taxi drivers wore them. No, I didn’t see any N95 masks on sale anywhere and work units continued to distribute gauze masks to employees. Mine did issue me with a N95 in the last weeks of the SARS crisis. One popular trend was paper masks filled with powdered charcoal to 'filter out SARS'!

It was pointless for anyone, the government included, to distribute N95 masks as they are expensive and will not prevent SARS! All that any mask will do is to stop those with the disease infecting others! I believe that masks were just a placebo, enabling people to do something, anything, to protect themselves! It goes along with boiling vinegar and burning incense.

Kell (my son) wore his mask just once, for a photo of himself posed near a billboard proclaiming that: 'The government and communist party will beat SARS'.

I have never even put one on. I saw only about four of the foreigners living at the Friendship Hotel wearing masks, two were doing so as they entered a local supermarket. All employees at CRI (China Radio International) and CCTV (China Central Television) had to wear masks in elevators.

Russ: How badly has business been affected?

Yvonne: Yes, both good and bad, but this is expected to be short-term.

The worse hit sectors have been travel and tourism-based businesses and everything associated with them, including retail, catering and civil aviation. Most nations issued warnings against travel in China, movement within the country was curtailed, and no one went anywhere unless absolutely necessary. Wilma, my British teacher friend who lives in Shijiazhuang, 360 km to the south, could not come to see me, as anyone from Shijiazhuang who visited Beijing had to go into a ten -day isolation.

The transportation industry was also greatly affected as all forms of public transport experienced huge drops in passenger numbers, including aircraft. On the other hand the sales of bicycles and private cars rose as fears of catching SARS by being in close proximity to others when travelling on a crowded bus, subway train or via taxi grew and commuters sought better ways of avoiding coughing, sneezing strangers. Bicycling was also touted as an ideal way to exercise and build up your immunity!

Hotel occupancy numbers are still at an all-time low and organized tours were cancelled, both within Beijing and further afield. The service industry was also affected.

Many of Beijing's rural migrant workers returned home from late April before the subsequently shortened May Day holiday break or during the first half of May. Most migrant workers are employed in the service industry or on construction sites.

When I visited a wholesale clothing market on 22nd May I noticed that about 10% of the stalls were closed, business was slow and there were few customers. Kell bought himself a tee shirt depicting a "Manga" (Japanese comic art) style design of a masked face and the words "Against SARS".

The Chinese State Council said that SARS had 'worsened China's already grave employment situation'. Recruitment fairs, a regular event in Beijing, were suspended and an on-line approach to employment was encouraged.

On a more positive note, technology communication businesses and medical industries saw a rise in profits. Long distant and local telephone businesses, as well as Internet services, more than doubled. Videoconferencing replaced face-to-face meetings, and sales of medical and sanitation-related products soared, as did home-delivery food and grocery services.

Russ: Do people eat out as much as they did before the crisis?

Yvonne: No, but this is slowly changing. Some restaurants closed their doors; others opened for shorter hours but many remained unchanged although customer numbers were low everywhere. I only found one restaurant that I normally eat at closed. We were directed to another of their branches nearby. Most eateries had a sign on their windows assuring diners that its cutlery was sterilized and safe. The biggest fear was mingling with large groups of people and as most Chinese entertaining is done in restaurants, not in private homes, this sector was heavily hit.

Levels of hygiene have improved and more care taken. A lot of restaurants are now providing soft-soap dispensers and hand dryers at the hand basins and antiseptic moistened tissues at the table. Another worry was the traditional habit of sharing food, eating with chopsticks from common plates in the center of the table. Many diners can now be seen using serving spoons to place food from the main dishes into their own individual bowls, thus cutting down on the chance of cross-infections.

Russ: What about entertainment places. Are they still closed?

Yvonne: Sporting events, including the Women's World Cup soccer game were postponed and many entertainment venues such as nightclubs and bars were closed. Only a few brave bars in Beijing's expat Sanlitun area remained open, but many of their foreign customers, especially the young students, left town.

Most music venues have shut down until things improve. Waley’s popular backpackers bar at the Jing Hua Hotel remains closed as of late June. English-language 'what's on' publications and websites advised calling locations ahead to confirm if they were still open and if listed events were actually going ahead, as much was subject to change due to SARS-related cancellations.

Some beer garden style outdoor entertainment areas took full advantage of the Spring weather and the government's advice to entertain in the fresh air. Many of the little bars on the shores of Hou Hai Lake have outdoor areas and remained open. At the Friendship Hotel the beer garden opened on June 1st.

Russ: Can you now move about the city freely?

Yvonne: Yes. Even more so while the road and pedestrian traffic was lighter! There were no roadblocks, no martial law and absolutely no restrictions on movement throughout the city and streets at all. Entrance to some residential compounds was discouraged by notices posted at their gates and entry to college and University campuses could only be achieved by showing a pass.

Russ: What's the current situation at Beijing Review?

Yvonne: I returned to work on June 10. I had been previously been telephoning my office each morning with my temperature reading, which I took myself at home. I don't know how many Chinese staff stayed home.

The magazine operated on minimum staffing. One English language editor, a young American woman, went into the office two days a week. Foreign staff in the Spanish and French editions also stayed home. We did work sent to us via computer. My work unit paid me full wages and accommodation costs as well as sending me disinfectant, soap, vitamins and traditional Chinese medicine. I was very pleased with their treatment.