This paper examines the problems of coordination between and within six jurisdictional players, namely the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Guangdong Province, the Central Authority (PRC), the Taiwanese Government, the Taipei Government and the World Health Organization during the SARS episode from November 2002 until August 2003. We found that the diverging political interests and entrenched administrative practices accounted for the poor coordination between and within these players. The obsession with “political correctness” has severely hampered “rational” decision making among the jurisdictional players. The highly fragmented and compartmentalised intra-jurisdictional public health system means that marshalling resources from health and non-health sectors is difficult. Asia Pac J Public Health 2007; 19(Special Issue): 7–12.
LeungPC, OoiEE. SARS War: Combating the Disease.Singapore: World Scientific,2003.
4.
SARS Expert Committee. SARS in Hong Kong: From Experience to Action.Hong Kong: SARS Expert Committee,2003.
5.
PetersBG. Managing horizontal government: the politics of coordination.Public Administration1998; 76: 295–311.
6.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The Global Health Imperatives for Inviting Taiwan to be an Observer of the World Health Assembly (WHA).Taiwan: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Available at http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/public/Attachment/5541145771.pdf. Accessed 11 April 2006.
7.
LohC. The Politics of SARS: WHO, Hong Kong and Mainland China. In: LohC. (editor). At the Epicentre: Hong Kong and the SARS Outbreak.Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press,2004: 139–162.
8.
Mainland to Offer All Possible Health Assistance to Taiwan People.BBC Monitoring International Reports 2003 April 3. Available from: Lexis-Nexis. Accessed 11 April 2006.
9.
ZhengY, LyeLF. SARS and China's Political System. In: WongJ, ZhengY, (editors). The SARS Epidemic: Challenges to China's Crisis Management.Singapore: World Scientific,2004: 45–76.
10.
HuoY. Zhengfu dui gonggong weishend de wenji guanli: zhongguo SARS weiji fansi [Government's public health crisis management: reflections from SARS crisis in China] [dissertation].Xian: Northwest University,2004.
11.
ChristensenT, PainterM. The politics of SARS - Rational responses or ambiguity, symbols and chaos?Policy and Society2004; 23: 18–48.
12.
LaiH. Local Management of SARS in China: Guangdong and Beijing. In: WongJ, ZhengY, (editors). The SARS Epidemic Challenges to China's Crisis Management.Singapore: World Scientific,2004: 77–98.
13.
ShiJ, YangJ, ZhanS. Beishi Pi Weishu Buying Bandiaozi Qiushushi Biaoshi Meikanguo Zhufadingchuanranbing Mingci [the Department of Health of Taipei Criticized Department of Health of Taiwan: The Half-Way Measures should be Avoided. Miss Qiu Never Heard of the Term Semi-Communicable Disease]. Lianhebao [serial online]. 2003 March 26 [cited 2006 Apr 11]. Available from: WiseNews.
14.
YeS. Juece Zhuanwan Chongji Bianyou Tizhi. [Swift Turn in Policy Challenges Chen and You's Political System] Minzhong Ribao [serial online]. 2003 March 29 [cited 2006 Apr 11]. Available from: WiseNews.
MaN. SARS and the HKSAR Governing Crisis. In: KohT, PlantA, LeeEH, (editors). The New Global Threat: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Its Impact.Singapore: World Scientific,2003: 107–122.
17.
Legislative Council.Report on “Legislative Council Select Committee to inquire into the handling of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak by the Government and the Hospital Authority”.Hong Kong: Legislative Council,2004.
HuiDLH, NgMK. Absence of Sustainable Governance for Health Crisis Management: The SARS Epidemic in Hong Kong. In: Conference Proceedings for the 12th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference 2006. Hong Kong: the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management.
20.
Institute of Medicine.Future of Public Health.Washington DC: National Academy Press;1988.
21.
BenitezMA. Health Chief Admits SARS Flaws.South China Morning Post.2003 August 23.
22.
Department of Health, Executive Yuan. Kang SARS Guanjian Jilu Gongwei Zagen Gangyi Dianji [Record of Battle Against SARS: Consolidating the Basis of Public Health Crisis Management]. Taipei: Centre for Disease Control, Department of Health,2004.
23.
QiuCT. Taiwan Yinying SARS Weiji de Wenti yu Jingyan [Taiwan's Responses to SARS: Problems and Experiences]. In: ChenDS, (editor). Liangan Wenji Guanli: SARS Jingyan, Jiaoxun yu Bijiao [Cross-Strait Crisis Management in SARS: Experiences, Lessons and Comparisons]. Taipei: Jingdian Wenhua,2005: 93–120.
24.
Taiwan Yinying SARS Weiji de Wenti yu Jingyan [Taiwan's Responses to SARS: Problems and Experiences]. In: ChenDS, (editor). Liangan Wenji Guanli: SARS Jingyan, Jiaoxun yu Bijiao [Cross-Strait Crisis Management in SARS: Experiences, Lessons and Comparisons]. Taipei: Jingdian Wenhua,2005.
