The Guardian-China detains five AstraZeneca staff in investigation over data privacy and import breaches
September 5, 2024 3 min 428 words
英国《卫报》的这篇报道主要内容是，五名阿斯利康（AstraZeneca）员工因涉嫌违反数据隐私和进口药品法规在中国被拘留调查。被拘留的人都是中国公民，他们负责阿斯利康肿瘤药物的市场营销。报道提到，警方正在调查阿斯利康员工是否参与进口了一种未经批准用于治疗肝癌的药物，以及该公司收集患者数据的方式是否违反了中国隐私法。这一事件发生在北京开展的反腐败运动之中，当局试图打击制药和医疗保健行业中的回扣和公共资金滥用问题。 评论：该报道虽然试图客观报道事实，但仍然带有西方媒体常见的偏见。例如，报道暗示中国可能滥用权力打压外国企业，并试图将事件与中美紧张关系联系起来，暗示地缘政治紧张局势可能因特朗普在美国大选中的胜利而加剧。然而，报道没有提供足够证据支持这些观点，而是依赖于猜测和对一位美国政客言论的引用。此外，报道没有提到在中国经营的外国企业通常遵守法规的情况，以及中国政府对数据隐私和医疗法规执行力度的增加，这影响了包括外国企业在内的所有企业。该报道也忽略了阿斯利康公司在中国的业务规模和重要性，以及该公司在中国的收购和增长战略。
Chinese police have reportedly detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees as part of an investigation into possible breaches related to data privacy and importing unlicensed medications.
The detentions took place earlier this summer, and targeted Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for the oncology division of the British pharmaceutical company, according to Bloomberg.
Police are investigating whether AstraZeneca employees were involved in importing a drug meant to treat liver cancer, but which had not been approved for distribution across mainland China.
The investigation, which is being led by police in the Shenzhen region, is also examining the way the company collected patient data, and whether that may have broken China’s privacy laws.
AstraZeneca said in a statement: “We are aware a small number of our employees in China are under investigation and we have no further information to share at this point.”
It comes amid a wider anti-corruption drive by Beijing over the past year, with authorities trying to cracking down on kickbacks and the misuse of public funds in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.
AstraZeneca has about 16,000 staff in China, which makes up 13% of the company’s revenues, or about $6bn of a total $44bn (£33bn). That scale makes AstraZeneca, best known in Britain for its Covid-19 vaccine that was developed in conjunction with Oxford University during the pandemic, China’s largest overseas drugmaker in terms of sales.
The British firm, which has about 90,000 employees around the world, previously targeted Chinese biotech firms for acquisitions and discussed strategies for growth in the country. On purchasing the rare disease specialist Alexion for $39bn in 2020, AstraZeneca identified China as an important market to grow the company.
But last year the company reportedly considered spinning off its business in China and listing its shares in Hong Kong or Shanghai to shield it from rising tensions between China and the US and its allies.
It was hoped the move would protect the company – which is run by the FTSE 100’s best-paid chief executive, Pascal Soriot – from any potential crackdown on overseas businesses by Chinese authorities.
There is now growing speculation that geopolitical tensions could reach new levels if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November. Comments by Trump’s running mate and prospective vice-president, JD Vance, have been particularly pointed. He told CBS in May “I don’t like China,” as he bluntly blamed the country for problems in the US jobs market.