The core message: The notice of stopping the transfer of genetic rice on the website of the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Grains in early December has disappeared. The first local government issued an administrative regulation prohibiting the sale of genetically modified rice and was halted more than ten days later. Transgenic agricultural products have been controversial in China for many years, but no government department has given clear conclusions. This move by Fujian immediately caused controversy.
The Southern Weekend reported on December 17 that GM rice that had been controversial by various circles had been “stopped†by multiple departments in Fujian. Why did the “stop notice†quietly disappear after more than 10 days?
Quietly disappeared "stop notice"
The notification of the halting of genetic rice on the website of the Fujian Provincial Grain Administration in early December has disappeared.
The first local government promulgated the "Prohibition of the sale of genetically modified rice" administrative regulations, was stopped more than ten days later.
On December 3, the Fujian Evening News first reported on the “Four Sectors of Fujian Circular on Strengthening the Supervision of Genetically Modified Rice†issued by the Food Bureau of Fujian Province, the Office of the Food Safety Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the Administration for Industry and Commerce. Notice ")" prohibits the cultivation, processing and sale of genetically modified rice.
Transgenic agricultural products have been controversial in China for many years, but no government department has given clear conclusions. This move by Fujian immediately caused a number of media reprints and fierce debates on the Internet.
Someone immediately wrote an article to pay tribute to the Fujian provincial leader, and called this decision, "The significance is no less than the original Lin Zexu fired opium."
However, when the reporter went to the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Food and Industry on December 8 to understand the specific circumstances of the policy, he unexpectedly learned that the policy had undergone major "changes."
Zhang Yaohe, director of the Industry Management Division of the Fujian Provincial Grain Administration, rejected the reporter’s interview request on the phone and stated that the relevant notice was “encrypted†and should not be made public by the media.
After another telephone conversation later, Zhang clearly told reporters that because of “the media’s excessive attentionâ€, the policy has been “halted.â€
"I later went to the website of the Food Bureau and found that the notice had been withdrawn. I don't know why." On December 10, Xie Chongling, a Fuzhou Evening News reporter who first published the report, told reporters.
After discovering the “Notice†on the website of the Food Bureau in early December, Xie charged the following day and called the Fujian Provincial Grain Bureau to learn about the situation. “They had no concerns at that time. They said that they had done an investigation report in the middle of the year and then went out with other departments. ."
After the Southern Weekend reporter publicized the application process for government information, he filed a public application for relevant government documents with the relevant departments of the grain bureau, and as of this writing, no formal reply has been received.
When asked by reporters to participate in the provincial food safety committee that was signed, the reporter was told that the leaders of the two provincial economic and trade commissioners, who served as Director and Deputy Director of the Food Safety Office, were “outside the meeting†and could not respond to reporters’ questions.
According to the reporter’s understanding, the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Food in response to the requirements of the leaders of Fujian Province in June requested that the investigation report on genetically modified rice be caused by another report released by Greenpeace in April this year.
The director of the Greenpeace Food and Agriculture Program, Fang Lifeng, told the Southern Weekend reporter that the organization announced in a survey released in April this year that they had found illegal sales of genetically modified rice, rice products and genetically modified rice in nine regions of China. Including Fujian area.
In June, according to the report of the Fujian Provincial Grain Bureau, the provincial leaders instructed the grain bureau to take the lead, together with the Food Safety Office, the Agriculture Department, and the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, in accordance with relevant state regulations, put forward specific measures to strengthen the supervision of genetically modified rice. And organize the implementation.
In the Zhiliang [2010] letter No. 36, the provincial grain bureau required the other three departments to submit relevant materials to the industry bureau of the grain bureau by July 8 and start the departmental federation. However, the "Notice" that appeared on the website of the Provincial Bureau of Foods in early December clearly showed that the document was formed on November 26.
Why did the implementation of a provincial leadership's instructions take five months? Why did the plan to stop the transfer of genetically engineered rice was eventually halted?