China "demonized" on fake drugs, says SFDA

Reports from China offer evidence of the inconsistency of public authorities when dealing with fake or substandard drugs. Xinhua, the  government news agency, reported that Xiong Xuanguo, the Vice President  of the Supreme People's Court, had stated that the issue has become a  cause of discontent. He said that fake or poorly-manufactured  medicines "seriously harm people's health, disturb the healthy  development of the pharmaceutical industry in China and severely damage  the image of the country internationally." Mr Xiong announced a new  interpretation of the country's legal code to allow stiffer punishments.

However, Bian Zhenjia, Deputy Director of the State Food and Drug  Administration complained at a news conference that "foreign media" was  fabricating stories and foreign drugmakers were ignoring regulations,  Reuters reported.