Red Lantern Diary: Seattleite's Dispatches from Hong Kong

When I first heard about the Swine Flu, I was immediately concerned and sorry for those in Mexico who had suffered. At the same time, I have to admit, I was relieved: for once, a world pestilence had not originated in southern China.

Of course it was only a matter of time before the Swine Flu made its grand entry into Hong Kong. Last week, health officials diagnosed a man who had arrived here from Mexico via Shanghai. The Government immediately quarantined the hotel where he had stayed the previous evening. The move included restricting hundreds of guests and staff to the hotel for seven days. One can only imagine these people's dismay at this unhappy turn of events. Nevertheless, while the Government's decisive action may have seemed harsh and extreme to outsiders, it had the full support of those of us who lived through SARS.

Flu experts have been concerned that it would be difficult to control the Flu once it hit the densely populated countries of Asia. Kowloon, the area in Hong Kong where this man was staying, certainly ranks as one of the most crowded places on earth. SARS went from a virus rampaging through southern China to a global problem when a sick doctor arrived in Kowloon from neighboring Guangdong Province, infecting others in the hotel who then flew off to various points around the world.

As SARS waned in Hong Kong, my husband and I attempted to book a trip to Japan. Unfortunately, Japanese hotels were not anxious to host Hong Kong residents, and we tried a dozen hotels before we could find one that would accept us. At Tokyo's passport control, the guard would not take my passport from my hands but rather motioned for me to set it down. When he was done, he tossed it back on the counter for me to retrieve, the height of rudeness in Asian cultures.

Our experience in Japan came to mind yesterday when I was crossing the Chinese border for a shopping trip. After completing a health form similar to what we saw during SARS, I was pulled out of line twice for further questioning. This time, it was not my Hong Kong residency that caused me trouble but rather my status as an American citizen.

As part of an attempt to keep the Swine Flu from spreading into China, border guards are pulling all Americans out of line to ask when we have last visited our homeland. There were no temperature checks or in depth inquiries about our health; the few cursory questions made me think the check was more for show than to repel an infectious disease. And let me say, the guards I encountered were not worried about politeness.

So, it seems my relief about the Swine Flu's origin was misplaced. As an American, I find myself once again targeted for "special treatment." Today we fly to Beijing. We'll see what we encounter as a family of three Americans entering the nation's capital.