London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Doctor Who Exposed China's 2003 SARS Cover-Up Dies At 91

Doctor Who Exposed China's 2003 SARS Cover-Up Dies At 91

Jiang Yanyong angered authorities when he informed foreign media of China's attempts to downplay the outbreak of the SARS, revealing the existence of hundreds of previously hidden cases.
The doctor who exposed China's cover-up of the SARS epidemic in 2003 has died aged 91, his family confirmed on Wednesday.

Jiang Yanyong, then a doctor in a Beijing military hospital, angered authorities when he informed foreign media of China's attempts to downplay the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, revealing the existence of hundreds of previously hidden cases.

His funeral was held on Wednesday morning, said Jiang's daughter-in-law Cui Hong, who told AFP she was "not allowed" to attend the ceremony, and declined to provide further details on his death. He reportedly died on Saturday.

SARS went on to kill more than 800 people worldwide, and China's government came under fierce international criticism for initially covering up the fact that the disease emerged in the south of the country.

Jiang later spent eight months under house arrest after publicly denouncing the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, during which the military crushed weeks of student-led democracy protests, killing hundreds and possibly thousands.

Jiang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to then-premier Wen Jiabao in 2004 calling for an official reassessment of the incident.

The whistleblower faced a host of restrictions towards the end of his life and was barred from travelling to the United States in 2007 to accept a human rights award.

There was no coverage in mainland China's censored media of Jiang's death, though a handful of social media users posted tributes on the popular Weibo platform.

"He was a doctor who dared to speak the truth," wrote one Weibo user.

Information about disasters and public health crises is still tightly controlled in authoritarian China.

In December 2019, a group of doctors in Wuhan were reprimanded by police for spreading "rumours" after they warned on social media of a new SARS-like disease -- Covid-19 -- spreading through the central Chinese city.

Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, one of the doctors summoned by police, later died of Covid, unleashing a wave of public anger.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
×