Chinese Concerned Over GMOs: Prominent Lawyer Calls for Full Disclosure

Prominent Beijing Lawyer Huang Leping has publicly expressed his concerns on the safety of GM crops. The lawyer issued public statements criticizing the government’s response to a formal “administrative reconsideration application” made by Huang on June 25th. The Ministry of Agriculture issued a letter responding in kind to the application but according to Huang Leping “that answer is too simple” and ultimately failed to address the potential hazards posed by GM crops 

The Beijing lawyer's reputation for asking tough questions has lent considerable weight to his arguments after earlier this year he successfully petitioned the Government under the Freedom of Information (FOI) act. In February, Huang and two of his colleagues requested full disclosure on the findings of a governmentally funded groundwater quality study assessing 200 of China’s cities.
 
Huang’s concern derives from a recent government move on June 13th to approve three cultivars of imported genetically modified Soybean. The action has been greeted with uncertainty and borne on a wave of public consternation regarding the long term safety of genetically modified organisms for human consumption
 
Huang’s petition is requesting information on 5 key areas:

• The type of GM soybeans currently being imported

• The total volume of imports

• The safety evaluation data for these species

• The GM labeling system

• The data on GM crop use and distribution

In response to Huang’s June 25th petition, on July 5th the Ministry of Agriculture published information on the safety testing data for GM soybeans. They also issued Huang Leping’s office with an individual statement addressing the lawyers concerns and highlighting the fact that the current crop approvals met the mandated obligations as laid down in publically approved legislation. The Government also pointed to the relevant regulations and standards but Huang responded by insinuating that the Government was hiding behind an administrative smokescreen to avoid directly answering his questions. Two days ago the lawyer issued his reply to the government by sending a registered letter, essentially accusing the government of not fulfilling their obligations under a FOI request. However the Government is as yet to respond and with a comprehensive legislative framework backing up Chinese GMO regulations we can expect a similar tight lipped response from the government. 

With media attention fixed on the government, tensions were heightened when the Beijing
lawyer formally requested receipt of his registered letter which has considerably upped the ante on the Government’s response. Media and public alike are both waiting on the Government’s response with Huang announcing he is “looking forward to the relevant department’s full disclosure.”