Job Discussion Forums

[kensensei]

Hello to all of you on the SARS frontlines.
I apologise for asking this because I know everyone is sick and tired of discussing SARS.

I recently read an article in one of the large California newspapers about an American living in Beijing who felt that SARS was being blown out of proportion and that "the panic was totally irrational on a mathematical level".

However, in the same article he wrote that locals in China are not only taking SARS extremely seriously, they are also avoiding places that provide food, dancing, drinking and other social activities. Although many restaurants had felt an impact, many drinking/dancing establishment in Beijing had been reduced to "Ghost Towns" according to the author/English Instructor there. . . .

I am planning to travel to the Shanghai/Hangzhou area this summer but I am having secong thoughts due to such reports. I am a social dancer myself and dancing events can be health risks because of the contact with so many strangers.

Who out there would agree with the author description of what used to be vibrant, thriving businesses as "Ghost Towns"?

Thank you for your insights.

[MyTurnNow]

In a few places (especially Beijing) most entertainment venues are closed by government order.

In many others, the places are closing down or reducing hours on their own due to lack of customers. A great many Chinese are simply not going out at all, sometimes not even to work. Here in the Greater Shanghai/ Lower Yangzi Valley area (including SH and HZ) things don't seem to be too drastic but the impact has definitely been felt and continues to be felt. A lot of places closed down briefly but, as the owners began to realize that closed doors equal no income, things have opened back up.

Still, crowds are pretty sparse and you might have some trouble finding a dance partner. My town is normally a major tourist center but the main turista drag has definitely become something of a ghost town. Famous scenic areas, usually packed this time of year, can currently be enjoyed about as alone as one can get outdoors in China. Bars normally hopping are completely or nearly empty; it's mostly just the foreigners that are brave enough to get out and around. One friend commented that portions have become bigger in some restaurants, as they try to use up the food they've bought for the day. And the singsong girls in the bars have become even friendlier and more open-minded.

Much as I love it here, I cannot recommend that anyone move or travel here right now. There's too much restriction, too much mandatory quarantine, too much fear. Hopefully the end of this mess is in sight.

MT

[kensensei]

Thanks, MT, for taking my questions seriously.

It is relevant that the author of the article is in Beijing, which is considerably higher risk than Shanghai right now. So your insights from Shanghai are appreciated.

There seems to be a rather pessimistic view throughout China, "Stay Inside, Stay Alive", regardless of the number of cases in a particular region, which seems over-reactionary. It's funny that, on the one hand, the govt.-controlled media is trying to put a smile on the epidemic, saying there is no need to panic and that things are coming under control. But on the other hand, the govt. is closing down schools and public facilities. Doesn't that seem a bit over-reactionary, too?

MT is right; I guess it is just a matter of waiting and hoping for a swift conclusion to this frustrating chapter.

--K

[Roger]

Local authorities do not act in unison, and that's why the situation differs from province to province and even from town to village. Some villagers have set up road blocks to prevent townfolks from polluting the environs. CIties have set up roadside stations to check the body temperature of visitors. If you go from Shenzhen to Hong Kong your body temperature is measured twice. In major train stations thermal readers have been set up. Airports have to check the health of passengers.

In some places, schools have been closed for weeks. Airlines are reporting under-usage and have had to cancel flights.
The central government has enacted Draconian punishments including the death penalty for people who disobey government instuctions and refuse to cooperate with the authorities in containing the spread of the disease.
Millions of migrant labourers are stranded in big towns, not allowed to return to their homes and families, yet on the dole and unable to make money.

This intelligence is all from the media; where I live it is pretty business as usual. Where I am we can only discuss what others are experiencing plus our own fears if we travel around and get trapped in a place officially under quarantine. And yet, I am based in the province where all is supposed to have started off - in Guangdong!

Overreaction? Perhaps. perhaps not. I do think the WHO had to warn the world's public because the Chinese were less than normally cooperative, and they have put their own people's livelihoods and lives at risk, not to mention the health of all visitors and expats based here.

In Hong Kong, they are returning to normalcy - if that's some consolation to you. Businesses are satisfying long-pent up customer needs now, and everybody is laughing again.
Spitting and polluting the environment will soon be common again.

[MyTurnNow]

Thanks, Ken. I take ALL questions seriously.

I rather concur with Roger. Given some local factors, such as the incredible population density, the relatively low level of sanitation and personal hygiene habits, and the huge crowds of migrant workers drifting around, some draconian measures may be called for. A wildfire outbreak here would be devastating.

Not to say that there hasn't been some outright madness...

MT

[Kapt. Krunch]

I'm in Haikou...Sars is not really as big a factor as in most cities...butwhile they say "there's no SARS here" they have shut down all discos, theatres, and even made a new mandatory closing time for i-net cafes. University students are locked up but high schoolers can run amok.
One of my friends is being told by his building superintendant whom he can have over to visit. Reason?? SARS of course.
Does a disease have a bedtime???does it only come out after dark??WTF!!! This place is devoid of any logic...

[kimo]

The author of that article sounds like our own Egas who frequents this place. You can find the original piece down a page or two on this China forum. I would be interested to know if it is. If it's not, perfhaps someone lifted an idea or two from him.

Where's MW and his plagia.....

[kensensei]

You might be right, Kimo.

A lot of posters on this forum have journalism backgrounds. Does our friend Egas live in Beijing? And (without mentioning the name of the writer) are his real initials M.A.?

Just testing your hunch . . .

--Kensensei

[Egas]

Just to clear up a small point, yes that article was written my me, the one and only and highly opinionated Egas. Pacific News Service took the article and since there are some 200 newspapers and publications associated with it, it did the rounds like the local hussy.

That article is a bit dated now, referring to events of three weeks ago. Things have since lightened up a bit in Beijing. The doom, gloom and panic phase seems to have passed. But life is far from normal here. Lots of bars and retsuarants are closed, and business cannot be anything like it was prior to the outbreak of SARS. I haven't heard any figures, but there must be a hell of a lot of newly unemployed here. If things don't pick up soon, there could be somewahat of a social/economic crisis here.

As far as strutting your moves on the dance floors of Beijing at present, there's not much going down here. Barely a rotating strobe light to be seen anywhere. I've had to put away my white coat, pointed shoes and flares myself.

[kensensei]

Yes, I imagine even John Travolta would find China to be a lonely place right now.

Egas, thanks for clearing that up. When I first read your article in the local newspaper, I had no idea you would be discussing China topics here "in the flesh". It is an honor to have you address my concerns about work/travel in China. And thanks for the update now that your article is three weeks old. (SARS news becomes dated very quickly . . .).

To be honest, my father cut out that article and left it out for me to read (I can't be bothered with newspapers now that I have discovered the Internet!). But it has made a big impact on my thinking. Since I do not have any work lined up (nor a working permit) my main purpose of travel to China is sightseeing and socializing (my Mandarin skills need sharpening). My secondary purpose is to test the waters (looking into universities and private schools, mostly) in case I decide someday to spend a couple years teaching EFL there.

This outbreak is really poor timing for me (not that there is any such thing as a good time for an epidemic outbreak ) because now I have three months off from teaching and only one small dream -- to see China first hand. But I don't want to end up in a lonely, gloomy hotel room with no place to go. I could go to Greenland if I wanted desolation.

Sigh . . . Oh, well. There's always Argentina!

[arioch36]

We'll make sure not to cry for you