From Mexico to China: Cool Heads and Warm Hearts Make an Unforgettable Experience

    A Chinese expat in Mexico, I was impressed with the efforts of the Mexican people coping with A/H1N1 flu, as well as China's uncompromising preventive effort; both kinds of determination are essential to containing the epidemic.

A charter plane of China Southern Airlines carried 98 Chinese passengers from Mexico to China.

"What We Do for China, We Do for the World"

    The sudden outbreak of the A/H1N1 flu poses a serious threat to health and safety around the world. Mexico remains key to the successful containment and eradication of this mutating strain of flu, while significant numbers of its citizens are being lost to the epidemic. The efforts made by the Mexican people in the global fight against this blight deserve our respect and gratitude.

    China is proud to have provided urgently needed support to the country. The epidemic developed suddenly, and the Mexican government simply was not prepared. Gauze masks were sold out in a couple of days, leaving even medical personnel without protective devices. China was the first country to provide any aid to Mexico. This "timely rain" consisted of material worth US $4 million and US $1 million in cash. President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa were at the Benito Juarez International Airport to receive China's first batch of 3 million gauze masks and 240,000 protective devices. The two leaders expressed Mexico's gratitude to China through Ambassador Yin Hengmin, who accompanied them on their cargo inspection.

    The Chinese government actively mobilized two more of its great resources – the Chinese people and their knowledge. Response and containment had to be scientific and swift; the top concerns were prevention of its spread into China, and management of the return of Chinese nationals in Mexico. Thanks to the SARS experience in 2003, China has much to share with the world with respect to this particular emergency. What the authorities were doing for China, they were literally doing for the health and safety of the whole world.

Call from the Motherland

    After the outbreak of A/H1N1 flu, the leaders of China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and China Today immediately contacted its offices in Latin America demanding staff take self-protective measures and immediately dispatching gauze masks for them. The Chinese embassy in Mexico also made phone calls to every Chinese media organization in that country to express their concern and support.

    China Today staff members at the Mexico City branch didn't intend to return to China, hoping to spend some time out of the city, where the infection was most frequently reported, and make their way back when the epidemic petered out. As it turned out, the virus spread rapidly, forcing the Chinese government to issue an order that its citizens withdraw from the plagued country. Two of my Chinese colleagues were complying, headed obediently to Shanghai on flight AM098 the morning of April 30, while I stayed in Mexico to preside over the work of the branch, more busy than ever with news. Soon however, alarming increases in incidences of infection prompted CIPG leadership to order me back as well.