Trucks carrying supplies into the TAR are reportedly being stopped at the province's border. Goods like rice and other products, including foods that are not produced in the TAR and are normally transported by road from mainland China, are not reaching Lhasa anymore.
Does this mean Lhasa will start to run short on food? Especially in light of the internal travel restrictions mentioned below?
Notwithstanding official communiques identifying the danger of SARS as coming from outside the TAR, strong travel restrictions have been imposed within the province itself, nurturing perceptions that the authorities might fear panic and unrest in this potentially tense situation, as much as the spread of the disease. Roadblocks have been installed along the major roads in the TAR, preventing the flow of goods and people. It is, for instance, currently impossible to reach Lhasa from the eastern prefecture city of Chamdo.
Actions like this make we wonder about how things really are in China.