Safe SARS hospital move promised to Beijing expats
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-17 15:45

Expatriates living in plush suburban estates near the site of a planned new infectious diseases hospital in Beijing are circling their wagons, determined that it be built elsewhere.

It is a rare case of foreigners borrowing from the Chinese right to "petition", one of the few avenues for the disgruntled to seek redress which has increased in recent years with the widening gap between rich and poor.

Beijing is moving the Ditan Infectious Disease Hospital from downtown to the northeastern Beigao suburbs, famous for their European-style compounds, grassy back yards, tennis courts and international schools.

Residents are worried about the impact of the hospital, which treats HIV and SARS patients, among others, so close to the estates with names like Grand Hills and Beijing Riviera -- both on the residents' health and the price of their properties.

"If we continue to do things slowly and sporadically as we are doing now, we can hardly overturn the decision to move the hospital," the residents said on their Web site.

"Then, we will see people panic, people move out of the villa area and property prices and rent come down."

One resident said the issue was not expatriates versus local Chinese, but the quality of the proposed building, waste treatment and maintenance in years to come.

SHODDY WORKMANSHIP

The northeastern suburbs, near the airport, have grown furiously in the last 10 years as foreign investment has picked up, but many residents complain about shoddy construction standards and workmanship.

"This is not a question about why locate the infectious disease hospital among foreigners versus domestic residents," said Ellen Grogan, a U.S. IT executive and working mother.

"This is a question of why locate the new, primary infectious disease hospital for the nation in a densely populated area with highly congested traffic."

She said the possible recurrence of SARS and a forecast bird flu pandemic added to residents' fears.

"Given that many, many of the CEOs of the most prominent, foreign investors and statesmen in China live within a few kilometres of this hospital and send their children to schools across the road from the hospital, what do you think will happen to foreign direct investment?"

SARS emerged in southern China, swept through the province of Guangdong, and spread globally in 2003, infecting 8,000 people and killing 800.

The residents applied for an administrative review at the end of last month and the Beijing government had 60 days from then to make a decision.

"If we are not satisfied with the decision, we may appeal to the State Council or submit our case to the People's Court," the residents said on their Web site.

Beijing Health Bureau officials in September assured the residents of advanced methods of waste treatment.

"All in all, we will factor preventive measures into the design, construction, operation and management of the hospital and we will adhere to strict standards of sanitation and segregation," Guo Jiyong, deputy director of the Beijing Health Bureau, told the residents.

Government and hospital officials declined to make any comment and said they needed an application for an interview.

The Beijing News quoted Guo as saying the project would start at the end of this year and was expected to be completed at the end of 2007.