A Year On: Remembering Dr. Jiang Yanyong, the Truth-Teller Who Saved Lives
Hermann Aubié, March 12, 2024
One year ago today, on March 11, 2023, the world lost a remarkable figure: Dr Jiang Yanyong (蒋彦永), a Chinese surgeon who first became known to the world for exposing a government cover-up during the SARS crisis of 2003. He thus played a crucial role in ensuring that both his compatriots and people worldwide were aware of the gravity of the pandemic, ultimately contributing to saving numerous lives.
At 91, he died of pneumonia at the People’s Liberation Army’s 301 Hospital while under surveillance, a few miles away from the Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂) on Tiananmen Square where thousands of CCP officials wrapped up the ‘Two Sessions’[1] (两会). His life, marked by a dedication to public health and truth-telling, serves as a powerful testament to the courage it takes to speak out against authority in the pursuit of a greater good.
Early Life and Career
Born in 1931 to a wealthy banking family in Hangzhou, Jiang Yanyong witnessed the devastating impact of tuberculosis firsthand when his aunt succumbed to the disease. This experience ignited within him a passion for medicine, leading him to pursue a medical degree at Yenching University after the Communist takeover in 1949. He excelled at Peking Union Medical College, China’s top medical school, before joining the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as a surgeon, inspired by the Canadian wartime doctor Norman Bethune (1890-1939). Dr. Jiang’s early career was marked by both idealism and disillusionment, while unfolding against the backdrop of a rapidly changing China. Assigned to the No. 301 Military Hospital in Beijing, he earned the nickname “Brave Jiang” for his skill and willingness to tackle complex cases.
However, the idealism of his early years was shattered by the brutal realities of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Labelled a “class enemy” due to his family background, Dr. Jiang was subjected to four years of ‘labour reform’ (劳改) in the remote province of Qinghai. Following the Cultural Revolution, which did not extinguish his moral compass, Dr. Jiang returned to Beijing’s 301 Hospital where he rebuilt his life and career by advancing medical knowledge through cancer research to improve patient outcomes.
Unmasking the Truth: Dr. Jiang Yanyong’s Bold Stand Against the CCP’s SARS Cover-Up
In April 2003, witnessing a surge in patients exhibiting symptoms of a highly contagious virus, he became alarmed by the stark discrepancies between the official narrative and the reality he observed on the frontlines. After SARS spread from southern China to Hong Kong and multiple countries, causing more than 1,000 infections, Dr Jiang called medical colleagues in Beijing’s military hospitals who told him about a surge of SARS-infected patients, with nearly 60 cases in only one hospital. In contrast, China’s Health Ministry, eager to downplay the severity of the outbreak while receiving even more evidence[2] of a rapid and fatal spread, reported only a mere handful of cases and even claimed that it was ‘perfectly safe to visit for business or pleasure with or without masks’, which Dr. Jiang knew by then to be a gross underestimation. The 2002-2004 outbreak of SARS (aka SARS-CoV) would then turn out to be the first major twenty-first-century respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus.
Driven by a profound sense of ethical responsibility and a commitment to public health, Dr. Jiang took a courageous step. As a 71 year old semi-retired surgeon and CCP member with the military rank of Major General, he penned a letter exposing the government’s attempts to suppress the true scale of the crisis. This letter, circulated among local media outlets and hospital authorities, detailed the true number of SARS cases he was aware of. Dr. Jiang hoped that the Ministry of Health would double-check if the figures were undercounted, and announce the correct figures to the public to avoid panic and better control the spread of disease. Instead, the relevant authorities and local media ignored Dr. Jiang’s pleas for transparency, and the letter found its way to international media like the Time magazine which interviewed Dr Jiang who said that ‘a failure to disclose accurate statistics about the illness will only lead to more deaths’, igniting a global firestorm of criticism against the Chinese government’s handling of the crisis. Dr. Jiang’s act then had the rare effect of generating enough international pressure to force the Chinese government to acknowledge the severity of the outbreak and implement stricter containment measures. On April 20, the CCP’s leadership removed the health minister and Beijing’s mayor from their positions, and partly lifted medical information suppression. At that time, China’s 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017) observed how the CCP’s ‘makeshift accountability’ consisting of high-level officials reprimanding lower-level officials ultimately spared the central leadership from being held accountable. Under China’s pervasive climate of censorship and fear, Dr Jiang’s decision to talk to uncensored media generated public scrutiny that briefly exposed the CCP’s information control regime as a systemic problem and a root cause behind China’s public health crises.
While the measures adopted by the CCP were criticised for coming too late, they are still believed to have significantly curbed the spread of SARS and saved countless lives around the world. For his conscientious courage, Dr. Jiang was rightfully hailed as a national hero within China. For example, China’s independent magazine Caijing (财经) called him ‘the honest doctor’ and a WHO investigation with CCP officials confirmed that the information collected by Dr Jiang was indeed true. However, Dr. Jiang’s courage and public recognition eventually came at a cost. The CCP, initially caught off guard by his actions, chose to ostracise him for his defiance despite some initial praise seemingly in line with the people’s praise. As the news cycle receded, Dr. Jiang was subjected to house arrest, lengthy interrogations, and banned from leaving China to see his family abroad and to talk to the media.
Dr. Jiang Yanyong’s Enduring Legacy from June Fourth 1989 to the Covid-19 Pandemic
In 2004, ignoring the CCP’s ban from ever speaking out to the media, Dr Jiang used his voice again to speak the truth. Remembering the June Fourth Massacre (六四屠殺) where the CCP violently ended Chinese people’s peaceful protests between April and June 1989, Dr. Jiang wrote in February 2004 an open letter to the CCP about how his hospital received scores of people killed or injured by soldiers during June 4th. And he asked the CCP to call the demonstrators “patriots” instead of “counter-revolutionaries” and to re-examine its own responsibility. He was then detained on 1 June 2004 and released seven weeks later. In March 2019, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the June 4th Massacre, Jiang Yanyong wrote another letter to Xi Jinping once again requesting a rectification of the CCP’s official historical record. Like the voices of The Tiananmen Mothers (天安门母亲) and Liu Xiaobo, and Hong Kong’s candle light memorials (banned by the CCP since 2020), Dr. Jiang joined the many voices of conscience within and outside China who sought to keep honouring the ‘spirit of June Fourth’ and of its ‘departed spirits’ with the hope that people will not forget the past efforts of Chinese people to democratise China.
In a 2013 interview with the CCP-owned 新京报, as Xi Jinping was about to take China down a more repressive path, Dr. Jiang observed ‘better conditions for truth-telling’. Fast-forward seven years, Dr Jiang was under house arrest during the 2019-2020 outbreak of Covid-19 (aka SARS-CoV 2), which revealed another conscientious medical doctor called Li Wenliang (1986-2020) who also told the truth via a private WeChat group to fellow doctors to help save lives. Tragically, he ended up reprimanded by the CCP, who forced him to renounce his warning. As the epidemic grew beyond China’s borders, echoing the CCP’s reaction to SARS in 2003, key officials continued to downplay the coronavirus’s threat, delaying efforts to contain it, with global ramifications[3]. When Dr. Li died of Covid-19, he was mourned across China as someone who had spoken truth to power, as Dr. Jiang did before him. Before dying, Dr Li famously said ‘There should be more than one voice in a healthy society’ (一个健康的社会不应只有一种声音).
In this day and age, it is important to remember Dr. Jiang Yanyong’s legacy as it extends far beyond his role in exposing the SARS cover-up. He remains a powerful symbol of the fight for truth and accountability in the face of a repressive state power ruling by fear. His unwavering commitment to public health, and lifelong pursuit of justice serve as an inspiration to generations across the globe. While the CCP tried to silence Dr. Jiang during his life, his story continues to resonate. His life serves as a stark reminder of the importance of a free press, and the conscientious courage required to challenge illegitimate authority. “As a doctor (…), the most basic requirement is to speak the truth. I have experienced numerous political movements for 50 years, I feel deeply that it is easy to lie, so I insist on never telling lies.”
[1] The term “two sessions” refers to the simultaneous annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s legislative body, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body. While these sessions involve discussions and recommendations, it is important to note that the ultimate decision-making authority lies with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, particularly in shaping and implementing policies.
[2] See for example in mid-March 2003 the Air China Flight 112 from Hong-Kong to Beijing which is a well-documented case of SARS transmission, of which at least one passenger from Finland (Pekka Aro ✝ 1950-2003) who was the first foreigner to die of SARS in Beijing on April 5. Ultimately, SARS had 8,422 reported cases with 11% of those dying in Asia mainly. It peaked in May 2003 with no need for a vaccine.
[3] In contrast to SARS-CoV, as of March 2024, the three first years of Covid-19/SARS-CoV 2 are estimated to have led to more than 7 million deaths worldwide including an estimated 1,5 million in China, with no end in sight yet.
Hermann Aubié completed his PhD at the Centre for East Asian Studies of the University of Turku (Finland) in 2016, and is the author of Liu Xiaobo’s Struggle for Human rights: A Contextual Analysis from a Historical Perspective.
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