John Pomfret and Peter S. Goodman: Mysterious Illness Kills 2 In Beijing in Sign of Spread:

China often plays down or bans the reporting of news that could be construed as shedding a bad light on the government. Local governments often take the lead in suppressing bad news because officials worry it will cost them their jobs. For years, Henan province has denied the seriousness of its AIDS problem because of concerns that it would reflect poorly on the government and affect the "investment environment," a Chinese researcher said.

"SARS is no exception," he said. "We are seeing the government go into crisis mode. When it does that, all information is shut down. In the absence of information, the common people are left to rumors and panic."