CHINA, NATIONAL, SOCIETY, NEWS COMMENTARY: Panic Is Caused by Covering Up Truth
By Li Shuting
"I know that bird flu is striking our province and several infected people died in other provinces. What a big deal? We just fight against it. Actually, I feel sorry for the thousands of poor chickens that were killed," my 74-year-old grandmother said in an easy tone yesterday.
I can still remember that two years ago she was in a panic about SARS, but now she is so calm and confident; she even feels sympathetic with the chickens.
Why is it so different? My grandmother gave me an interesting answer--what always causes panic is not truth, but fear in people's hearts resulting from rumor, ignorance and distrust.
In the early spring of 2003, I first knew about SARS from a neighbor who came back from Guangdong Province, where SARS first attacked. He described the disease in a very horrible way and said hundreds of people had already died from it. I couldn't help panicking then, and now I know why many people were panicking.
Firstly, at that time no news came from any official source, only frightful rumors spreading in the public. People had no chance to know the exact number of deaths from any trustable media, and the number was various in different versions. In some rumors, the numbers were terribly large.
Secondly, being ignorant of the knowledge about the disease, people feared SARS but didn't know what to do or how to protect themselves. The government was busy covering up the truth; no authority gave any suggestion about precautionary measures.
Thirdly, since the government was not honest but attempted to conceal the truth, people began to distrust it. Hence many people felt that they had lost their spiritual support.
Remember or imagine the situation: people were threatened by an infectious fatal disease without knowing how to protect themselves. What's more, they felt that they were cheated by and were disappointed in their government. What could they do? Panic.
Some officials were afraid of causing panic if they informed the public about the disease. But what happened when they finally told the truth? People became calm and seriously adopted the precautionary measures; the cooperation between government and the public became a sharp weapon, and with it we defeated SARS.
Facts tell us that the public can be rational and powerful. To conceal the facts can result in nothing but panic.
Admittedly, government is doing a better job coping with bird flu now. Not only is it adopting more effective measures to prevent the disease from spreading, but also it is being honest with the public. Sometimes attitude means even more than methods.
TV, radio, newspaper and websites...various sources not only update the public on information about the disease, but also passes experts' suggestions about precautionary measures to people.
Though we are informed that bird flu is spreading to more and more regions everyday, we stay calm. There is no reason to panic--we know what's going on; we know how to protect ourselves and we trust the government.
Just tell us the truth, and people will say, "What's the big deal? We'll just fight against it."
Panic is caused by covering up truth.
"I know that bird flu is striking our province and several infected people died in other provinces. What a big deal? We just fight against it. Actually, I feel sorry for the thousands of poor chickens that were killed," my 74-year-old grandmother said in an easy tone yesterday.
I can still remember that two years ago she was in a panic about SARS, but now she is so calm and confident; she even feels sympathetic with the chickens.
Why is it so different? My grandmother gave me an interesting answer--what always causes panic is not truth, but fear in people's hearts resulting from rumor, ignorance and distrust.
In the early spring of 2003, I first knew about SARS from a neighbor who came back from Guangdong Province, where SARS first attacked. He described the disease in a very horrible way and said hundreds of people had already died from it. I couldn't help panicking then, and now I know why many people were panicking.
Firstly, at that time no news came from any official source, only frightful rumors spreading in the public. People had no chance to know the exact number of deaths from any trustable media, and the number was various in different versions. In some rumors, the numbers were terribly large.
Secondly, being ignorant of the knowledge about the disease, people feared SARS but didn't know what to do or how to protect themselves. The government was busy covering up the truth; no authority gave any suggestion about precautionary measures.
Thirdly, since the government was not honest but attempted to conceal the truth, people began to distrust it. Hence many people felt that they had lost their spiritual support.
Remember or imagine the situation: people were threatened by an infectious fatal disease without knowing how to protect themselves. What's more, they felt that they were cheated by and were disappointed in their government. What could they do? Panic.
Some officials were afraid of causing panic if they informed the public about the disease. But what happened when they finally told the truth? People became calm and seriously adopted the precautionary measures; the cooperation between government and the public became a sharp weapon, and with it we defeated SARS.
Facts tell us that the public can be rational and powerful. To conceal the facts can result in nothing but panic.
Admittedly, government is doing a better job coping with bird flu now. Not only is it adopting more effective measures to prevent the disease from spreading, but also it is being honest with the public. Sometimes attitude means even more than methods.
TV, radio, newspaper and websites...various sources not only update the public on information about the disease, but also passes experts' suggestions about precautionary measures to people.
Though we are informed that bird flu is spreading to more and more regions everyday, we stay calm. There is no reason to panic--we know what's going on; we know how to protect ourselves and we trust the government.
Just tell us the truth, and people will say, "What's the big deal? We'll just fight against it."
Panic is caused by covering up truth.
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