Beijing Getting out of SARS Shadow

The Chinese capital of Beijing, the hardest SARS hit place in the world, is on its way to walking out of the shadow of SARS. Adriano Màdaro, an italian journalist, is one of those foreigners who are likewise cherishing much confidence in the city. Ning Yan reports.
Ning Yan: The unexpected SARS outbreak in Beijing once caused panic and worry among the public. However, the capital city, which is home to 14 million people, is now walking out of the shadow with fewer new cases and more people discharged from hospitals. Adriano Màdaro and also a regular visitor to Beijing. In this special time of SARS, he read some local news reports about the severity of the SARS situation in China, which he found exaggerating and distorting. And then he came back to China again in late May to see what is really going on. "I decided to come to Beijing to see the exact situation, to meet my friends, to see the streets and to understand the feeling of the people. I found the atmosphere had changed, but it was the 24th, when I arrived here, after ten days I can see that now life is heading back to normal." Upon his arrival in Beijing, he says he needn't wear a mask not because the illness is not serious, but because he knew he could count on the open air in the streets. "Why in Beijing in the open air in the streets do people wear masks? I think it is exaggerated. And international media took photos and sent them back abroad, and all people overseas would think 'Oh, China is now under a mask!'" Now with the situation easing in Beijing, he goes back to the streets like many of his Chinese fellows. "I go everywhere, I've been to the park, I'm writing a book about old Beijing so I go to many temples. So I am doing the normal activities like before. I've been to Tian'anmen Square, to the Gugong (Forbidden City), Wang Fujing Bookstore." Màdaro also believes that China will finally win the battle against SARS with effective government measures.