The SARS Epidemic 'Challenges to China''s Crisis Management'

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 (EAI) 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. This volume is the result of an EAI workshop on “SARS in China: Crises and Responses”. This book has been selected for coverage in: • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings® (ISSHP® / ISI Proceedings) • Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings (ISSHP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings) • CC Proceedings — Biomedical, Biological & Agricultural Sciences Contents: The Impact of SARS on Greater China Economies (J Wong et al.)SARS and China's Political System (Y Zheng & L F Lye)Local Management of SARS in China: Guangdong and Beijing (H Lai)SARS and the Rule of Law in China (K Zou)Healthcare Regime Change and the SARS Outbreak in China (X Gu)“Chinese Scientists Were Defeated by SARS” (C Cao)SARS and Freedom of Press: Has the Chinese Government Learnt a Lesson? (B He)The Hong Kong SAR Government, Civil Society and SARS (E Thomson & C H Yow) Readership: General. Keywords:SARS;Political Systems;Political Governance;China;Hong Kong;Crisis Management