§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, I beg to ask the second Question which, stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the statement in the Press is well-founded that the present influenza epidemic was first identified at Pekin and what machinery exists for the official communication of this discovery to the World Health Organisation.]
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, I have no official information on the first part of the noble Viscount's Question. As regards his second point, to the best of my knowledge the Government of the People's Republic of China does not report epidemiological information to the World Health Organisation.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, has the noble Earl observed that a very distinguished authority. Sir Macfarlane Burnet, stated that this epidemic broke out in Pekin, and that Mr. Calder, who is another expert, writes from Geneva to say that it has been raging in North China for some months and reached Shanghai only recently? And does the noble Earl say it is not desirable that this should be known to the rest of the world in order to protect the general health of the people of the world?
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, I think the noble Viscount has misunderstood me. I said that we have no official knowledge of this report and of the disease having been identified as first breaking out in Pekin. There is, of course, nothing to preclude the Government of the People's Republic of China from supplying this information to the World Health Organisation.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, does the noble Earl really think that that answer is adequate to the present situation? In Hong Kong alone, half a million people are affected. We do not know how many are affected in China. It is not only a question of ourselves: there are all the Chinese, too.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEDoes the noble Earl not think it is our duty to help 763 the Chinese people if they have the disease, and also our duty to protect our own people by getting the information, if we can get it?
THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, the noble Viscount asked me whether the Press report was well founded. All I can answer is that, so far as I know, we have no official information on that point. I have also told him, that there is no possible reason why the Government of the People's Republic of China should not send their reports to the World Health Organisation.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, I will reserve my remark upon that to my Question which will come up later in the day. I think the Answer is inadequate.
§ LORD SILKINMy Lords, would it not be a good idea if we ourselves took some initiative in this matter, seeing that our own subjects are vitally affected?
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, so are the Chinese affected.