China to "salvage" reputation on food, drug safety
Thu Jul 12, 1:43 AM ET
China has announced fresh measures to ensure substandard drugs are stopped from reaching stores as it works to salvage its credibility following a raft of safety scandals, state press reported Thursday.
The nation's food and drug watchdog will have to abide by new regulations to improve transparency in the approval process of medicines and curb corruption within the industry, the China Daily reported.
"Transparency is the enemy of corruption. That's why we have introduced the new regulations," the paper cited the deputy chief of the State Food and Drug Administration, Wu Zhen, as saying.
Wu's comments came after the former head of the administration Zheng Xiaoyu was executed Tuesday following his conviction for bribe-taking to approve hundreds of medicines, some of which proved dangerous.
Zheng's case has come to symbolise the rampant graft and dishonesty in the country's product-safety systems which have raised alarm both in China and overseas.
