Beijing has embarked on an ambitious strategy that includes taking a nationwide genetic survey of its 1.4 billion people every half-decade. The new plan has sparked concerns over the authoritarian regime’s violation of personal privacy, and its possible anti-humanitarian motives.
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology recently promulgated regulations for the management of China’s human genetic resources, effective July 1. Almost buried in wordy statements about “filing, prior reporting, supervision, and inspection” of human genetic resources is the mandate that a “national survey of human genetic resources shall be carried out every five years and may be carried out according to actual needs when necessary.”
According to the ordinance, human genetic resources comprise “materials”—substances like organs, tissues, and cells that contain human genes; and “information”—data generated from the use of the “material.”
Political commentator Zhuge Mingyang spoke to The Epoch Times on Aug. 15 about China’s genetic plan.“Overseeing the Chinese people in terms of bioengineering and genetics and then threatening the whole world: this is [CCP’s] ultimate purpose,” he said.
Mr. Zhuge believes that research into human genetics could affect health care, biosecurity, the economy, national defense, and many other areas. However, he said that past evidence suggests that the CCP’s aims may be even more sinister or controversial.
Massive Arbitrary DNA Collection
The new guidelines mandate that those who collect genetic information must “respect and protect the privacy and rights of providers and obtain written informed consent.” However, that sort of transparency under the CCP’s rules has long been questioned.
In September 2016, CCP mouthpiece CCTV claimed that China has the world’s largest national gene bank. This suggests that China has long been collecting genetic data without seeking the consent of the people concerned, experts say.
A report released in 2022 by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicated that a massive arbitrary collection of DNA from residents had taken place in all seven prefectures or municipalities of the Tibet Autonomous Region, covering the western part of the Tibetan Plateau.
By Shawn Lin and Lynn Xu
