The retired PLA surgeon is named by state-run media for the first time
The state-run media has finally recognised the contribution of a retired People's Liberation Army doctor who exposed government efforts to cover up the Sars crisis.
Articles issued yesterday by the China News Service and Xinhua admitted for the first time that it was Jiang Yanyong, 72, who forced the government to come clean. On April 6, Dr Jiang wrote a letter to international media accusing health ministry officials of lying about the scale of the Sars problem.
Subsequent news coverage abroad of Dr Jiang's allegations prompted the government to sack the health minister and the mayor of Beijing, and to reveal the extent to which Sars had spread.
'I haven't received any type of pressure or threats,' Dr Jiang was quoted as saying by China News Service. 'I haven't received any type of restriction. My life remains normal.'
The articles go on to describe Dr Jiang's life - how he 'gets up at 7am and rides his bicycle to PLA Hospital 301 in Beijing to chat with colleagues, before returning home to surf the internet and read books'.
The articles also mention that he began studying medicine in 1952 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital and joined the PLA in 1954. Before retiring a few years ago, Dr Jiang was director of surgery at PLA Hospital 301.