Vice-President Zeng Qinghong visited the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital in Beijing on Wednesday, praising medical staff who are working at the front-line of the fight against SARS and urging that Party members on the medical staff play a leading role in the campaign.

As an elite general hospital in Beijing, the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital was recently designated as a SARS patient reception hospital.

Zeng shook hands with the hospital's doctors and nurses after inspecting its SARS diagnosis and treatment wards and suspected SARS carrier observation ward.

He expressed his gratitude for the medical staff's great contribution in fighting SARS.

Zeng also visited the Heping Jiayuan resident community in Beijing the same day, saying that the epidemic situation in Beijing was still severe. Everyone was watching the SARS "war" in Beijing closely, and would be greatly reassured when Beijing's SARS epidemic situation was controlled.

No SARS infection cases were spotted in the immediately surrounding community, but Zeng asked that more stringent prevention measures be taken there.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2003)