Chinese leaders order probe over vaccine scandal
BEIJING — Chinese leaders are scrambling to shore up public confidence and oversight of the pharmaceutical industry after a rabies vaccine maker was found faking records, the latest in a slew of public health and safety scandals that have outraged Chinese parents.
Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement Sunday that Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd., which is accused of fabricating production and inspection records, “violated a moral bottom line.” He pledged an immediate investigation of the company and to “resolutely crack down” on violations that endanger public safety.
President Xi Jinping echoed those remarks, while police in Changchun, a city in northeastern China, announced that the company’s chief executive and four other executives had been placed under investigation.
Li’s remarks were aimed at assuaging Chinese parents who complain about worrying over fake food, milk and medicine in a society that seems to lack a “moral bottom line” — and also competent, uncorrupt regulators.