China Briefing | Vaccine scandal highlights public’s lack of trust in the Chinese government
As mind-boggling as it is, how what started as a piece of good news could degenerate into a crisis for the government is another sad reminder of its deep-rooted propensity to withhold information vital to the public interest and its lack of credibility in the eyes of ordinary citizens, writes Wang Xiangwei.
It started as a piece of good news on February 23 when Xinhua reported that police in Shandong had arrested a mother and daughter on suspicion of having illegally sold improperly stored or expired vaccines worth more than 570 million yuan (HK$679 million) across 24 provinces since 2011.
But the news failed to capture the public’s attention until a news website controlled by the Shanghai municipal government published a follow-up report on March 18 with a catchier headline that noted the vaccines could cause death. It was immediately picked up by the social media accounts of mainstream media such as the People’s Daily and China Central Television.
It has since fermented rapidly into the biggest health care scandal of recent years. Premier Li Keqiang ordered a thorough investigation and even the World Health Organisation issued a statement. Local media suggested some mainland mothers planned to bring their children to Hong Kong for vaccinations, raising concerns over whether local facilities could cope with the influx.
Vaccine scandal: China detains 37 suspects as senior official admits to problems in drug system
As mind-boggling as it is, how the good news could degenerate into a crisis for the government is another sad reminder of its deep-rooted propensity to withhold information vital to the public interest and its lack of credibility in the eyes of ordinary citizens.
Subsequent reports have suggested massive corruption and lack of effective supervision by the government authorities in production, transport, storage, and sale of vaccines.
As the official China Daily commented: “The authorities have nobody but themselves to blame for the disbelief and mistrust they face.”
China’s drug watchdog on trail of black market vaccines
The Xinhua report said the arrests were made in April 2015 and the case was then transferred to the supervision of the Ministry of Public Security and the China Food and Drug Administration in Beijing. This suggested the central government regulators had known about the seriousness of the case for nearly one year.