China will shut its borders if there is a single case of human-to-human transmission of bird flu in the country, its deputy health minister has said. As bird flu entered Britain yesterday with the discovery of the virus in a parrot in quarantine, Huang Jiefu said saving lives would be Beijing’s main priority even if it meant a slowdown in the economy.
A socialist country, with more central control, can probably do this easier than a capitalist country. Still, China has huge borders and the east borders would seem to be very porous indeed.