Chinese media split over Sars

China's press are divided over the government's handling of Sars as it adopts a new, frank approach to the outbreak.

Some papers hail the steps taken by the authorities. But as the number of victims rises further, reports critical of the government are also now appearing.

The China Youth Daily is damning in its criticism, saying the country has "acted foolishly".

"We not only untruthfully informed the international community on the disaster situation, but also refused international assistance," says the paper, which is sponsored by the Communist Party's youth league.

The way China approached this "great disaster", it says, "may seem like national pride but is in fact very harmful."

"This way of dealing with problems and the public may look smart, but actually shows a lack of political confidence and even a weak mentality," it adds.

'Formidable task'

But other papers hail the new measures taken by the government - including an information campaign, disinfecting public places and closing schools in the capital.

The Beijing Morning News says a "massive" campaign has been launched to track down those who might be affected.

The doctors are brave and have a strong sense of pride

Beijing China Daily

"Unceasingly the investigations into the epidemic must identify everyone with symptoms and not let one case escape," the paper quotes Beijing Communist Party chief, Liu Qi as saying.

The official news agency, Xinhua, also stresses that China is pulling out the stops in order to stem the spread of the virus.

China has "stepped up" measures, it says, introducing a system of "discovery, quarantine and treatment".

The China Daily website says the country is "facing a formidable task" in the fight against Sars.

But it is optimistic that the government will be "able to curb the spread of the disease".

The People's Daily focuses on positive feedback from the World Health Organization (WHO).

It says the WHO representative in Beijing, Henk Bekedam, had commented that China was "moving in the right direction" in its efforts to curb the virus.

Real heroes

But the newspapers are united in their support for the doctors "at the forefront of the battle against Sars".

The Beijing China Daily describes the "unsung stars" it says are fighting to stem the virus's spread.

The paper features a special team working "round the clock" to fight the virus.

All the doctors are "brave and have a strong sense of pride regarding their job", one of team is quoted as saying.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.