Editorials

Fear knows no borders

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-30 07:42

Even thousands of kilometers from the scene of the Japanese nuclear catastrophe, we have still felt its impact.

Monitoring stations in coastal areas, from Shanghai in the east to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the south, have detected very small doses of iodine-131 in the air, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Tiny amounts of the same radioactive material were found in the air above the northeastern province of Heilongjiang over the weekend.

The radioactive material is from Japan's stricken nuclear plant.

As the nuclear crisis at northeastern Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant unfolds, the nation's environmental protection departments at all levels have been monitoring the air above the country, especially the coastal areas.

Timely information on the radioactive materials has helped people remain calm.

The government should continue to do this.

When a crisis happens, making information known to the public is the best way to prevent fears getting out of hand.

Two weeks ago radiation rumors had people rushing to buy salt. The frenzied buying of the seasoning was caused by the belief that iodized salt is capable of providing protection against radiation and the assumption that all incoming sea salt would be exposed to radioactive materials.

Intensive buying of salt stopped after medical experts said salt would not act as a shield against the radiation, and government officials said the country has massive inland salt reserves.

China has learnt its lessons from disease outbreaks in previous years.

During the SARS epidemic in 2003, cover-ups caused panic in the nation and the government vowed to be candid in the event of any future disease outbreaks.

Its promise to stick to full-disclosure when sudden public incidents take place is the right move.

The public should be quickly informed when public emergencies happen. Take swine flu. Disclosure of information helped to swiftly sever the channels of infection.

In 2007 the government unveiled rules promising to expose itself to greater transparency.

Signed by Premier Wen Jiabao, the rules, which took effect in May 2008, empower citizens to demand information about government finances and economic plans, statistics, land development, environmental regulations and many other policies.

With the Internet, chat rooms and short messages transmitted by cell phone, control over the flow of information is impossible and counterproductive.

When no information is released via official channels, its absence can cause rumors to spread and the public to panic. Therefore, it is very important for the government to deliver information accurately and in a timely manner.

To do so will bolster public confidence in the government and prepare the public for emergencies.

(China Daily 03/30/2011 page8)