China executes former drug safety chief (taking bribes related to flawed medicine)

[TexasLawyer]

Source: AP

China executes former drug safety chief
The Associated Press
Published: July 9, 2007

BEIJING: China Tuesday executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog who became a symbol of the country's product safety crisis after he was convicted of taking bribes to approve flawed medicine blamed for several deaths. The execution of former State Food and Drug Administration chief Zheng Xiaoyu was confirmed by state television and the official Xinhua News Agency.

"The few corrupt officials of the SFDA are the shame of the whole system and their scandals have revealed some very serious problems," agency spokeswoman Yan Jiangyang said at a news conference held to highlight efforts to improve China's track record on food and drug safety.

"We should seriously reflect and learn lessons from these cases. We should step up our efforts to ensure food and drug safety, which is what we are doing now and what we will do in the future," Yan said about Zheng and a separate case involving Cao Wenzhuang, the administration's former pharmaceutical registration department director.

Zheng was sentenced to death in May for taking bribes to approve an antibiotic blamed for at least 10 deaths and other substandard medicines. Cao was given a death sentence last month with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes and dereliction of duty.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/10/asia/AS-GEN-China-Tainted-Food.php

[Critters2]

1. Man, those are some serious capitalists over there!! nt

[Party Line]

2. If at first you don't succeed...

Execute Somebody!

[Bread and Circus]

3. Here, the guy would have probably become a top advisor to the President...

or a really rich top lobbyist.

However, I find any execution an abhorrent brutality against humankind and just as bad.

It's a sad day that the U.S. and China are two of the world's super powers, both corrupt in their own ways.

[Joe Chi Minh]

16. He WOULD have been promoted in the UK or the US.

[Fenris]

4. Customer service at its finest.

"We sincerely apologize for inadvertently killing your pets and poisoning your citizens. Whom may we murder for you?"

I think people like paying less for electronics, clothing, and just about everything else, but I don't think they'd like it as much if they knew how the Chinese keep their goods so cheap.

[Poll_Blind]

6. Dude. Ya got that right. n/t

PB

[aquart]

5. If only we had done that with Nixon's men.

Except for John Dean who ratted them out and has become a fine, intelligent human being.

[Liberty Belle]

7. Sure cuts down on repeat offenders.

[Ian David]

8. Here in America, we'd give him The Medal of Freedom and he'd become a lobbyist.

In China, they make him an organ donor.

[WileEcoyote]

9. Excuse my morbid curiousity but,

How does the Chinese government execute people?

Is it a public hanging? Save the spare parts for transplants?

Apologies in advance for the gruesome content. However since it is a matter of the Death penalty/Human rights issue I think we ought to know. Not that I want the video up on the screen.

Even I couldn't take that...

[pinniped]

10. Some are firing squad, but they may employ other methods as well.

.

[sneakythomas]

14. Almost always

a bullet in the back of the head. They bill the family for the bullet. I'm opposed to the death penalty, but you have to think the next guy might be a bit more careful.

[WileEcoyote]

18. Energy efficiency, and accountability...

My goodness that's awful!

[Burma Jones]

11. If we executed corrupt politicians, I would believe in the equity of the DP

Of course, the Chinese are panicking....

[Vinca]

12. Generally, I'm against the death penalty, but . . . maybe they're onto something!

Forget the investigations, subpoenas, the stonewalling . . . off to the gallows!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. Seems a bit extreme to me

although Rummy could have been similarly dispatched for his failures and I'd have no problem with that.

[thecrow]

15. Gee didn't they just convict the guy a month or two ago?

And the "doctor bombers" in the UK are already in court?

And here in the US we have all those guys at Gitmo with no trial whatsoever, and no hope of one.

It makes you wonder....
if other countries can prosecute and even execute their terra-ists and criminals in such a short time, does that add a sense of "something being done about it" to the population?
Would you rather have a sense of having had the crime dealt with and punishment handed out for it or that feeling of just wondering what's gonna happen?

I think I would rather have the closure that comes with having the "evil doers" tried and sentenced to a long term in jail.

[ProudDad]

17. Next they can go after this guy

Embattled FDA chief Lester Crawford resigns

Commissioner under fire for Vioxx scandal, 'morning after' pill delay

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9455426/


China is a capitalist utopia disguised as a psuedo-"communist" country.

It is neither Communist nor Socialist.

[WhiteTara]

19. China executes former top drug regulator

Source: Houston Chronicle

BEIJING — China executed its former top food and drug regulator Tuesday for taking bribes to approve untested medicine as Beijing scrambled to show that it is serious about improving the safety of Chinese products.

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court carried out the death sentence against Zheng Xiaoyu, 62, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, soon after the country's Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.

Zheng, who had appealed his May 29 sentence on the grounds that it was too severe and that he had confessed to the bribery charges against him, became the first ministerial-level official put to death since 2000 and only the fourth since China opened it doors to the outside world nearly 30 years ago.
SNIP
China carries out more court-ordered executions than the rest of the world combined, according to human rights groups. Even by local standards the sentence against Zheng was unusually harsh and its execution uncommonly swift.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/4958449.html

---

Maybe we should do this to our FDA criminals.
Here's his picture...a real sweetheart, eh?

[mcctatas]

20. Now I'm just thinking out loud here...

asid from the fact that I am against capital punishment and have the utmost respect for our government (;) ), do you think things might be better in the US if incompetents, criminals and fuck-ups could be executed? Not that I condone such a thing, I'm just askin'

[varkam]

21. Sounds like eugenics to me. eom

[dEMOK]

22. I Get It...

...This is (Communist) China's way selling the West on the idea that they're serious about making safe toothpaste.

[Endangered Specie]

23. Talk about taking one for the team eh?

One to the head to be precise.

[silverojo]

24. I was just thinking along those lines

This redefines being "the fall guy", doesn't it?

[DeSwiss]

26. No,

I think "taking one from the team," would be more precise.

[Endangered Specie]

28. hahaha true enough

[DeSwiss]

25. Here's a link to a wider view of that shot of him (no pun intended)....

...and when I first saw it, I noticed that the woman (right-rear) appears to be smiling to someone as he receives the news of his fate.

And I wondered, "what could she be smiling about? Promotion?"

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/aolnews_photos/05/00/20070710105509990018

[BornagainDUer]

27. Compare to Bushboy rewarding similar sleaze in his adminstration.

[0007]

29. .......and the Duke (Cunningham) only got eight years and gets

to keep his pension.

I'm against capital punishment, but in the Duke's case, where he stole from the taxpayers, I would be for it! Would it get the attention of the legislatures? I doubt it!