By staff reporter LI WUZHOU

Grandpa and grandson, the former reading a leaflet on fighting SARS.

THE most distinguishing feature of the spring/summer fashion show held in Paris on April 20 was that the models elegantly stalking along the catwalk wore gauze masks. This was no fashion designer's whim, but a realistic aspect of contemporary life. To residents of Beijing, the gauze mask has since March 2003 become a daily accessory. Humorous text messages like: "Softly I outline your ears, gently I touch your cheeks, and sweetly I kiss your lips... But don't mistake me for anything but a gauze mask. Wear me whenever you go out," are being transmitted by the capital's many mobile phone users. The Chinese people may now be able to treat the SARS virus with humor, but its first appearance caused widespread fear and panic.

A Rude Jolt

In the 20-odd years since China adopted the policy of reform and opening-up, and particularly since 1997, the Chinese people have had reason to feel both proud and confident. The national economy has steadily advanced, China is now a member of the WTO, and Beijing won its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Above all, the lives of the Chinese people have become more stable. The arrival of SARS has, therefore, jolted the Chinese people out of a semi-complacent state of confident expectation into one of fear and uncertainty.

SARS has changed China and the life of the Chinese people.

On May 1, 2003, holiday makers enjoy themselves at Shenzhen's theme park Happy Valley, after going through SARS prevention measures.

The most obvious change can be seen in the government's handling of the SARS epidemic since April 20. Leaders have made no attempt to refute, or remain indifferent to criticisms leveled against them. The Chinese government has been frank, and taken full responsibility. As Vice-Premier and new Minister of Health Wu Yi said, it was incumbent on the government to apologize and make amends for not being more open with the public media. Each problem was squarely faced and the necessary drastic measures taken. Dereliction of duty on the part of the former minister of Health and the mayor of Beijing resulted in their being removed from office, and on April 21 the government began making daily public reports on the gravity of the epidemic. The media now gives timely bulletins on the current situation, indicating China's transparency at home and within the international community.

The government's openness and willingness to admit its mistakes have increased public confidence. According to one survey, most people said that if they or a member of their family were to manifest SARS type symptoms, they would immediately report to the relevant authority and take the necessary preventive and control measures as stipulated by the government. Although less than 20 percent was totally satisfied with the government's openness as regards the release of information, about 70 percent said they were relatively satisfied, indicating their recognition and support of the government's work.

The SARS issue marks a greater emphasis on public affairs on the part of the Chinese government. Judging from statements made by top Chinese leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao regarding, "maximization of public interest," public health now takes precedence over economic gains.

Health and Sanitation -- A Matter of Deep Concern

Greater attention is now paid to a healthy diet.

Chinese friends traditionally part with the words, "How about getting together for dinner soon?" Since SARS, however, the parting suggestion has changed to, "How about going hill climbing some time?"

During the SARS epidemic period, the media repeatedly emphasized how physical exercise increases immunity. Soon the Chinese people could be seen sporting and exercising in all ways, on streets and down alleyways, playing badminton, kicking shuttlecocks, and throwing frisbees. Beijing's subway stations were emblazoned with large-format body-building club advertisements that read, "An invitation to you, me and him to get together and sweat is better for us all than one to go out and eat."

During the SARS epidemic period, stores in almost all shopping malls were empty, other than the major exception of supermarkets selling daily-use articles and sports equipment stores. Badminton shuttlecocks, ping-pong and basketballs rapidly sold out in most shopping malls, and prices of motorized treadmills shot up.

Trade in city bicycle shops once again became brisk, to the extent that in some places advance orders were necessary. Ms Wang, who works at a foreign company, said, "The weather is getting warm. Going to work by bicycle builds up the physique and increases immunity. This way I can also avoid crowded buses. Choosing to travel by bicycle is an obvious and effective SARS preventive method."

A normal hygiene habit that increased multifold during the SARS epidemic period was that of washing the hands, evident in the consumption of running water in Beijing, which as from mid-April increased by 350,000 cubic meters per day.

Yet another change was in public attitudes towards spitting. Some time ago a special organization was set up in Beijing with the aim of eradicating the bad but common habit of spitting. It had minimal effect. Since the SARS epidemic, however, spitting is now completely proscribed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and a 50 to 200 yuan fine has been imposed. There are also special police patrols and volunteers in Beijing whose purpose is to stamp out this unhygienic, disease spreading habit.

Conventional eating habits also came in for criticism during the SARS epidemic period, particularly that of diners eating from one plate. In the traditional Chinese view, several friends taking food from same plate is an expression of good will. In the interests of preventing the spread of SARS, however, the China Association of Catering Enterprises advocated the serving of individual portions in restaurants throughout the country.

Health concerns have extended to the housing market. In Guangzhou, apartments with good ventilation and air convection are in the greatest demand. Adequate environmental protection and greening is no longer enough for the now more health conscious buyers.

SARS has forced a re-evaluation of the whole concept of good health and the quality of life.

Cherishing Family and Friends

The 10th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, which opened on April 21, 2003, drew 86,000 professionals in the first two days.

The SARS epidemic period brought home to people just how important their families are to them. There began to be less social intercourse and a greater emphasis on family life. Urban men started going home directly after work to be with their family members, rather than making any stops on the way to meet with clients, or hanging out with their colleagues.

Some sociologists say that SARS may have widened the physical distance between people, but that it has nevertheless made absolutely clear to all how, in this global village, people are interdependent. There are consequently altered attitudes towards money, work and traditional values. After being quarantined or confined to their homes for a period of time, many people became more open-minded, and keen to reaffirm their interpersonal relations. People began to call their relatives far from home more often, there was less grumbling, and generally more concern for the good of the whole.

As one scholar pointed out, recent developments in China's market economy brought about a new wave of individualism, and therefore selfishness, but "... the SARS crisis made us consider once more the common good."

In a recent survey in China, the question, "If you were a doctor, what would you do on being confronted by the SARS crisis?" was asked. Of those that answered, 45 percent said that they would go to the front line on their own initiative, and 49 percent that they would stay at their current post. A further 80 percent answered, "Despite the danger, I would volunteer for SARS prevention and control activities."

The impact of the "all for one and one for all" concept that has emerged in the fight against SARS on interpersonal and possibly international relations will be far-reaching.

Respect Wildlife

People communicate by mobile phone, sending short text messages. This has spurred the rapid growth of telecommunications.

There is no denying that the Chinese people are creative when tapping food resources. There are gourmets who joke, "I have eaten all things that fly other than airplanes, all that crawl other than tanks, everything in water other than ships, all four legged beings apart from chairs, and all bipeds other than humans."

In a survey conducted by the China State Forestry Bureau in 21 big and medium-sized cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, 46 percent of those interviewed admitted to having eaten wild animals -- 38.3 percent out of curiosity, and 54.8 percent in the belief that such meat is of high nutritional value and acts as a tonic.

Although it has not been definitely established that the SARS virus originated in a wild animal, the Chinese people have nonetheless begun to rethink their dietary habits. SARS has curtailed curiosity about the taste of game meat.

In the past, China's administration of the catering trade handled cases of rare or endangered species as menu items from the point of view of wildlife protection, rather than from that of epidemic prevention. Since the epidemic, however, the Chinese catering trade has implemented anti-SARS measures, and the China Cuisine Association has required of it a reduction in the supply of game meat. The State Forestry Bureau and the State Administration of Industry and Commerce issued a joint circular, ordering the cessation of hunting, sale, purchase, transportation, and import and export of wild game, as well as overall monitoring of domestication and breeding of wild animals. It was also reported that the chefs of Shanghai issued a joint written refusal to prepare game dishes. On May 10, the Shenzhen City Wildlife Protection Station published a circular, announcing suspension of "permits for wildlife business, operation and utilization," revoking all permits previously issued. Shenzhen is also to make laws prohibiting the consumption of game meat and establishing areas where hunting is permanently prohibited.

Promoting Network Subsistence

SARS has made the gauze mask a daily necessity.

The SARS epidemic caused empty public buses and overloaded public communications. Buses in Beijing are normally packed to the limit, but in April it was a different story, as many work units allowed their staff members to work from home, or gave them extended leave.

"Apart from occasionally going out shopping, I have stayed indoors for two months, and so have my parents," said Mr. Zhang, over the phone. But he had no worries about his social life or work as he had kept in touch with his work unit and clients by computer and telephone.

Mr. Zhang's experience shows that the SOHO (small office home office) lifestyle is beginning to catch on in China. The two well known websites, sohu.com and sina.com, allowed their staff members to work from home, as did IT enterprises in Zhongguancun.

Guo Haitong, aged 13, is a student in Class Three, Grade One of the Beijing Yuyuantan Middle School. On April 23, all primary and middle schools in Beijing suspended classes, but students received a circular informing them that teachers would give online classes through the Internet and on TV. On April 30, three websites jointly opened online classes for primary and middle school students. Starting in May, Guo could take lessons given by the best teachers in Beijing by means of the computer and TV.

"I had never bought anything on the Internet until recently, when I found a purchasing channel that is both cheap and convenient. I think shopping over the Internet will become the vogue before long," said Ms Cheng who works for a Public Relations company.

It is estimated that in 2002, electronic commodities sold on the Internet totaled 1.5-2.0 billion yuan. During the SARS epidemic period many people were reluctant to go to shopping malls. Instead, they did shopping on the Internet.

According to alibaba.com, on April 17 it displayed more than 9,000 items of commercial opportunity, a scale it had maintained since March. During the same period in 2002 and in 2001, however, the figure was around 3,000.

According to statistics provided by Eachnet.com, the largest of its kind in the country, after the breakout of the SARS epidemic, requirements for the release of information increased sharply. That on the availability of gauze masks, disinfectant and vitamins increased six-fold, and actual transactions increased ten-fold. Pan Yan, manager of Eachnet.com sports and travel goods section, said that in April an average 500 buyers made orders each day, averaging one transaction every 3.5 minutes.

Tourists at the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Some shopping malls began to access new markets by providing online services. The manager of one shop said, "With online shopping, our sales will not be affected by bad weather or any other serious epidemics."

China's Internet has developed rapidly in recent years. There are now tens of millions of netizens, and broadband access is available in various big cities. During the panic period of the SARS epidemic, China's broadband network was invaluable for enabling work to be done at home, giving lessons to students, online shopping, and for its ability to transmit messages on the state of the epidemic, as well as providing various kinds of online entertainment and exchange.

Life online has become a new lifestyle mode for many people. According to 263.com, the online time of its users has increased 20 percent.

Some people have even gone so far as to conduct their wedding ceremonies on the Internet. In Chongqing, a newlywed couple that planned to marry on April 26, and that had been making preparations for more than two months, canceled their wedding to avoid the risk of spreading SARS. Instead they bought a digital camera and held an online wedding, over which they toasted their friends and relatives, and received congratulations.

Face-to-face chatting has changed to online chat. Some people say that the Internet makes people less sociable, and that they would rather chat in a virtual chat room than talk to their colleagues in the same office. But it is undeniable that during the SARS epidemic period the Internet brought people closer.

The indispensability of the Internet in the midst of the SARS crisis has aroused the attention of the general public. Chinese people have begun to think, the SARS epidemic apart, shouldn't we re-examine our attitude towards information technology? Although the number of Chinese netizens reached 59.1 million at the end of 2002, surpassing the number in Japan, in proportion to China's huge population of 1.3 billion, it is still minimal.

This crisis has in addition been a warning to all Chinese companies yet to build their own internal networks. When something unexpected happens, can they keep up their normal pace of work? An investigation indicates that 26 percent of the companies on China's mainland are taking appropriate action. Although this figure is much lower than that in Hong Kong (53 percent) and Singapore (48 percent), it is approaching the figure in Canada (28 percent).

How can the whole of China be placed online, so that the Internet plays a more important role in China's modernization drive? And how is it that this utterly unforeseen crisis has been so considerably alleviated by the Internet? These questions have caused the Chinese people to ponder more deeply the issue of building a well-off society in an all-round way.