Woes of a Do-Gooder; Beijing has effectively silenced SARS whistle-blower Jiang Yanyong using an old tool, house arrest.

Byline: Melinda Liu

The Chinese government does not like being embarrassed. In April 2003 Dr. Jiang Yanyong became a Chinese folk hero after disclosing the true extent of Beijing's SARS epidemic and exposing a government cover-up. The retired Army surgeon, who is one of China's best-known antigovernment critics, surely saved lives with his alert; indeed, his name was even bandied about this month as a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. But Jiang, 73, wasn't exactly rewarded for his effort. After a seven-week detention this summer, the whistle-blower remains under a loose form of house arrest--unable to leave his residential compound without permission. Three weeks ago Jiang was permitted to leave home and enjoy a meal in public with relatives and friends. It was his second outing in a matter of days. Ever since Hu Jintao assumed leadership of the military as well as the government during the Communist Party plenum in mid-September, Jiang (who remains an active member of the People's Liberation Army) has allowed himself to hope that he might be freed soon.

That hasn't happened, even though Jiang hasn't been charged with any crime. Instead the retired head of surgery at Beijing's Military Hospital Number 301 is living in an ambiguous, extralegal state known as shanggui , deprived of full freedom pending results of an intraparty investigation. Family members were told he'd be freed on Sept. 15. As the magic day neared, Jiang dusted off his bicycle, filled the tires and looked forward to riding around on the streets of Beijing once again. But there's been no news since, and Jiang has taken to showing his impatience by riding his bike in circles inside his residential courtyard.

Last year when Jiang revealed that the number of SARS patients in military hospitals was much higher than reported, state media praised him as an "honest doctor," even as a "SARS hero." But this February Jiang blew the whistle again--this time on a much more sensitive episode in Chinese history. In a letter addressed to the top leadership, Jiang asked the government to reassess the June 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square and acknowledge that the protesters were "patriots." Jiang recounted his anguish at treating youthful victims of the crackdown, in which "tanks, machine guns and other weapons [were used] to suppress the totally unarmed students and citizens, killing hundreds of innocent students... Then, the authorities mobilized all types of ...