CPC101: Zhong Nanshan, a doctor who dares to speak out the truth

Zhong Nanshan is a leading figure in China in treating respiratory diseases, he is also among the most trusted medical doctors in the country.

In 2003, during the fight against the SARS epidemic, Zhong Nanshan served as the head of the SARS Medical Expert Group of Guangdong Province. “Bring me the most critical patients,” he demanded at the time. In the end, Guangdong registered the highest cure rate and lowest mortality rate of SARS patients in the world.

In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Zhong Nanshan, though at the age of 84, was appointed as the head of the High-level Expert Group of the National Health Commission. While advising the public to “refrain from travelling to Wuhan”, he rushed to the front line of the epidemic in Wuhan without hesitation. His words and actions brought reassurance to people at the time.

In the fight against SARS, Zhong inferred and ascertained that SARS was caused by a new type of coronavirus. Then in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Zhong confirmed early the “human-to-human” transmission of the novel coronavirus. He dared to speak out the truth and was always fighting on the frontline. With his real actions, he interpreted the Communist Party’s philosophy of “putting people and lives in the first place”.