The snares of modernity

The SARS crisis has already had a significant impact on China’s economy, politics and society, and will have an even greater impact in the near future. Without getting into a debate between poles, whether it was a “Chinese Chernobyl” or a “benign crisis”, the authorities’ handling of this emergency and the damage this crisis implies now appear to have a potential for destabilisation which is likely to send in a more political direction the great reform project begun 25 years ago. The reason i..