April 28, 2003, 11:25PM
Town riots over SARS rumorMistaken belief that school would be used as ward
By ERIK ECKHOLM
New York Times
CHAGUGANG, China -- Thousands of people rioted in this rural town Sunday night and ransacked a school, residents said,
after rumors spread that the four-story building would be turned into a ward for patients suffering from severe acute respiratory
syndrome, or SARS.
Despite the presence Monday morning of hundreds of police officers and two busloads of paramilitary troops in riot gear, residents
seemed unrepentant about their actions, illustrating how hard it may be for the government here to control popular emotion about a
disease whose existence it played down for months before abruptly changing tack eight days ago.
Daily totals of those infected in China have increased sharply since, with reported SARS cases in Beijing climbing Monday by 96 to
1,199, up from 350 just one week ago.
Chagugang is an agricultural market town about 12 miles northwest of the port of Tianjin, a two-hour drive from Beijing, with major
truck and train traffic. As of Sunday, the Tianjin municipality had 22 confirmed cases and 55 suspected SARS patients.
On Sunday night, residents in Chagugang had heard -- mistakenly, local officials said Monday -- that urban SARS patients were to be
housed in a junior high school here. This was perceived by residents as one more sign of the disdain big city officials have
for rural residents, as well as a possible health threat.
Chagugang residents said more than 10,000 people took to the streets in violent protest before the police dispersed the crowd around
midnight.
"We are people, too!" said an elderly woman, who like others interviewed would not let her name be used. "This disease is exactly
what everyone wants to avoid, and they want to throw it right at us."
The junior high school was, in fact, abruptly closed last week for rebuilding into a facility with 200 individual bedrooms.
Officials said it was to be used for quarantining people with possible exposure to SARS, not for sick patients.
Monday, the damaged building was guarded by scores of policemen and the paramilitary troops. Hundreds more police officers lined the
road through town, preventing residents or visitors from approaching.
The attack on the school was the first reported instance of civic violence directly associated with SARS. More conflict appears
possible as China's government -- used to treating the public, especially in rural areas, in a highhanded fashion -- applies stringent
measures in an effort to contain the disease and runs up against social tensions and the fast-spreading fear of SARS.
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