Title: The SARS epidemic : challenges to China's crisis management /
Authors: Wong, John, 1939-; Zheng, Yongnian
Publisher: World Scientific,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome prevention & control; Disease Outbreaks prevention & control; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemiology; SARS (Disease) China.; Epidemics China.; Public health administration China.; China epidemiology; China
Abstract: In the first half of 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck China (including Hong Kong), causing panic and claiming many lives. The unknown nature of SARS at that time also jolted the economic growth of China and Hong Kong, disrupted the social life of their citizens and created much stress and strain for their political systems and governance. Like other major crises, the management of the SARS crisis provides a good opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the political systems in China and Hong Kong. From the outset, scholars at the East Asian Institute followed closely the unfolding of the disease in China, particularly how each of the two societies coped with this random external shock. SARS may or may not recur in the near future, but the episode has offered a glimpse into the extent of resilience of the two societies, the quality of their political leadership, the effectiveness of their political and institutional mobilization, the crisis-management capability of their respective bureaucracies, and the viability of their governance systems.
Contents: SARS and governance in China / John Wong and Zheng Yongnian -- The impact of SARS on Greater China economies / John Wong, Sarah Chan and Liang Ruobing -- SARS and China's political system / Zheng Yongnian and Lye Liang Fook -- Local management of SARS in China: Guangdong and Beijing / Lai Hongyi -- SARS and the rule of law in China / Zou Keyuan -- Healthcare regime change and the SARS outbreak in China / Gu Xin -- "Chinese scientists were defeated by SARS" / Cao Cong -- SARS and fredom of press: Has the Chinese government learnt a lesson? / He Baogang -- The Hong Kong SAR government, civil society and SARS / Elspeth Thompson and Yow Cheun Hoe.