Jiang Yanyong, who helped expose China's SARS crisis, dies at 91
A retired military surgeon, in 2003 he denounced the concealment of the epidemic by Beijing. He was later punished for exposing the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Dr. Jiang Yanyong, a prominent military surgeon who became a national hero for exposing the Chinese government's 2003 cover-up of the SARS outbreak but was later punished for exposing the Tiananmen Square crackdown, died on Saturday. He was 91 years old.
His death was widely reported by Chinese-language media in Hong Kong and abroad, as well as friends in China, who shared a review on social media. saying he had succumbed to pneumonia and other illnesses. Two family friends told The New York Times they had confirmed his death with relatives, but both asked not to be identified, fearing recriminations.
Chinese state media has not confirmed the news of Dr. Jiang's death, which is not uncommon for a politically sensitive figure.
In the spring of 2003, alarmed to hear health officials downplaying the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Dr. Jiang sent a letter to several news outlets refuting the official story. His revelations prompted top Chinese leaders to acknowledge that they had provided false information about the outbreak and to launch a nationwide effort to combat it, saving countless lives.
"I was telling the truth," Dr. Jiang later recalled in a 2013 interview with the state-run Beijing News. "I thought the government would treat me fairly."
He did, at least for a while, hailing Dr. Jiang as a hero. But nearly two decades later, Chinese authorities have continued to virtually repeat the cover-up with the outbreak. of Covid-19.
Dr. Jiang retired in 2003 when he learned that many hospitals in Beijing, including the elite military hospital where he had worked, were facing an increase in the number of patients infected with the SARS virus. At that time, SARS was already a full-fledged outbreak, spreading across multiple countries and infecting more than 1,000 people in Hong Kong and southern China alone.
It has so shock to Dr Jiang when China's top health minister, Zhang Wenkang, appeared on TV saying Beijing had only 12 SARS cases and three deaths.
"You are safe here whether you wear the mask or not," Zhang said. "Beijing is perfectly safe to visit for business or pleasure."
Stunned by these patently misleading remarks, Dr. Jiang sat down the next day and wrote his letter, saying that there were already more than 100 cases in Beijing alone. The lanky, elderly doctor accused Mr. Zhang, who had also trained as a military doctor, of "abandoning even his most basic standards of integrity as a doctor".
As a member of the Communist Party who held a rank equivalent to that of major general in the United States, the Dr. Jiang was taking a huge risk. Nevertheless, he signed his name and sent the letter to several local media outlets. Foreign journalists quickly caught wind of it, and Time magazine broke the news.
The impact was immediate.
World Health Organization inspectors quickly extended their trip to Beijing to inspect hospitals where Dr Jiang said there were hidden cases, putting pressure...
A retired military surgeon, in 2003 he denounced the concealment of the epidemic by Beijing. He was later punished for exposing the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Dr. Jiang Yanyong, a prominent military surgeon who became a national hero for exposing the Chinese government's 2003 cover-up of the SARS outbreak but was later punished for exposing the Tiananmen Square crackdown, died on Saturday. He was 91 years old.
His death was widely reported by Chinese-language media in Hong Kong and abroad, as well as friends in China, who shared a review on social media. saying he had succumbed to pneumonia and other illnesses. Two family friends told The New York Times they had confirmed his death with relatives, but both asked not to be identified, fearing recriminations.
Chinese state media has not confirmed the news of Dr. Jiang's death, which is not uncommon for a politically sensitive figure.
In the spring of 2003, alarmed to hear health officials downplaying the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, Dr. Jiang sent a letter to several news outlets refuting the official story. His revelations prompted top Chinese leaders to acknowledge that they had provided false information about the outbreak and to launch a nationwide effort to combat it, saving countless lives.
"I was telling the truth," Dr. Jiang later recalled in a 2013 interview with the state-run Beijing News. "I thought the government would treat me fairly."
He did, at least for a while, hailing Dr. Jiang as a hero. But nearly two decades later, Chinese authorities have continued to virtually repeat the cover-up with the outbreak. of Covid-19.
Dr. Jiang retired in 2003 when he learned that many hospitals in Beijing, including the elite military hospital where he had worked, were facing an increase in the number of patients infected with the SARS virus. At that time, SARS was already a full-fledged outbreak, spreading across multiple countries and infecting more than 1,000 people in Hong Kong and southern China alone.
It has so shock to Dr Jiang when China's top health minister, Zhang Wenkang, appeared on TV saying Beijing had only 12 SARS cases and three deaths.
"You are safe here whether you wear the mask or not," Zhang said. "Beijing is perfectly safe to visit for business or pleasure."
Stunned by these patently misleading remarks, Dr. Jiang sat down the next day and wrote his letter, saying that there were already more than 100 cases in Beijing alone. The lanky, elderly doctor accused Mr. Zhang, who had also trained as a military doctor, of "abandoning even his most basic standards of integrity as a doctor".
As a member of the Communist Party who held a rank equivalent to that of major general in the United States, the Dr. Jiang was taking a huge risk. Nevertheless, he signed his name and sent the letter to several local media outlets. Foreign journalists quickly caught wind of it, and Time magazine broke the news.
The impact was immediate.
World Health Organization inspectors quickly extended their trip to Beijing to inspect hospitals where Dr Jiang said there were hidden cases, putting pressure...
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