Chinese President Xi Jinping orders crackdown over ‘appalling’ vaccine scandal
Command for thorough investigation and severe punishment reinforces zero-tolerance directive by Chinese premier
Chinese President Xi Jinping has described the country’s latest vaccine scandal as “appalling”, pledging a thorough investigation into China’s worst public health crisis in years.
Taking time out from his trip to Africa, Xi said China was determined to clean up the scandal-ridden industry, ordering local authorities to conduct an investigation immediately and release the findings to the public “on time” to ensure social stability.
“The violations by Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology are serious and appalling,” state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as saying, as police in Changchun took the company’s chairwoman Gao Junfang and four senior executives away for questioning.
Xi also ordered the authorities to use severe punishment “to cure the chronic disease [of corruption] and scratch poison from one’s bones”.
He told the authorities to resolutely “improve the supervision of vaccines and guard the bottom line of safety in order to safeguard public interest and social security”.
The orders echoed zero-tolerance directives by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the weekend in response to revelations that Changsheng Bio-tech had produced inferior DPT (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus) vaccines for children as young as three months old.