SARS Is the Spark for a Riot in China

Frustrated rural Chinese ransacked a junior high school on Sunday in the first reported case of popular protest against Beijing's handling of the Sars epidemic. As this article in the New York Times reports, "More conflict appears possible as China's government – used to treating the public, especially in rural areas, in a highhanded fashion – applies stringent measures to contain the disease and runs up against social tensions and the fast-spreading fear of SARS." Some are now asking, Will the challenge of Sars unsettle government-society relations in China? – YaleGlobal