(Clearwisdom.net)

Two days ago, I called my Mother in Beijing. We talked about the SARS virus. Her attitude had changed greatly from two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago I had called her through international long distance and told her about the severity of SARS in China and how the Chinese government was concealing the truth about SARS. I told her to be careful. She was indifferent to what I told her. She said she would watch the TV broadcasts to find out what the news said.

Later, I sent her many e-mails about the situation of SARS and how to prevent it. I knew from her replies that she had not yet realized the severity of SARS. A good friend of hers, who works in the National Bureau of Medicine Inspection and Control, had told her: "It is unnecessary to worry [about SARS], the odds of getting SARS are smaller than the odds of winning the lottery." Therefore, my mother still planned to go out visiting friends, shopping, and touring. From my mother's perspective, absolutely trusting the [Chinese] government, SARS was under control and China was a very safe place. To her, SARS appeared to be something alien and had nothing to do with her life.

In our most recent conversation, however, my mother's attitude had changed dramatically. She said that she was totally confused by the official government news. "What was said on TV changed overnight. They said one thing one day and another thing the next day." She said that people around her were all complaining. She asked me whether the current reports by the Chinese government were real and whether the international community believed the Chinese reports. I told her that I did not know. She said immediately that no matter what the news said, nobody was going to believe the official media anymore because the [Chinese] government had lost credibility. Her friend working in the Bureau of Medicine Inspection and Control had changed from being fearless toward SARS to being very careful. Meanwhile, her friend expressed anger towards the actions of the government in concealing the truth about SARS.

My mother said that the life of the people around her had changed greatly. Her friend who ran a private clinic has lost her job because the government demanded that all the private clinics shut down. Her friend was not prepared for this because she had thought that, "the situation was great." Just a short while ago, everyone believed that SARS was rare in China and now they felt that SARS was everywhere. The sudden change in the tone of the news has created a terror in people's minds and the psychological impact was too much for them to absorb in a short time. Most citizens now stay at home except for going out to buy necessities. Because they cannot believe the media reports, they have to rely on common sense and caution to protect themselves.

My mother also said that after this event, people have realized that the official media sources are not trustworthy. When one reflects upon previous news reports, it's clear that most of them are also untrue. For example, the reports on the Iraq war were apparently intended to stir up people's hatred toward the United States. My mother said, "But now, people will no longer be fooled again. This event [the SARS epidemic] is a real wake up call; anyone would wake up, no matter how indifferent he was."