Company was told to stop polluting; it secretly resumed production insteadThree officials responsible for a county in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region have been removed from their posts after a company that violated environmental protection rules resumed production without authorization.Qian Kexiao, Party secretary of Yongning county in Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan, and Li Runjun, head of the county government, have been held accountable for the situation along with Xu Qing, vice-mayor of Yinchuan, who oversees environmental protection in the city.Qian is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Yinchuan Committee of the Communist Party of China, according to a statement from Ningxia authorities on Saturday.The decision was made in a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ningxia Committee of the Communist Party of China presided over by Shi Taifeng, Ningxia's Party secretary. The committee also established a team to investigate the three officials.In 2016, environmental inspectors from the central government asked Ningxia Tairui Pharmaceutical Co in Yongning to rectify its environmental violations after finding that an "undesirable odor" emitted by the factory had affected nearby residents' lives.Tairui was ordered to suspend production after the inspectors revisited Ningxia in June and found it had failed to rectify the problem.The company released gas with an offensive odor at least once a day. The inspection team received 28 public reports on the first day after arriving in Yinchuan in June, with 17 of the complaints related to Tairui.Tairui said on June 22 that it would suspend production and relocate its factory.Local inspectors in Ningxia found during a recent visit to the company, however, that Tairui had resumed production without authorization."This is a case that's vile in nature and with especially flagrant circumstances," the meeting of the regional CPC Standing Committee said. The committee will launch an investigation into Tairui and its executives and severely punish its environmental violations, it said.Local authorities had shut down and sealed all the facilities that Tairui used for its clandestine production, as of 7 am on Saturday.The committee also vowed to comb through major companies in Ningxia for environmental violations and to ensure that any found are "completely rectified". Regular environmental inspections and law enforcement will also be enhanced, it said.Tairui, in Yinchuan Wangyuan Industrial Park, claims to be China's largest production and export base for veterinary antibiotics and a major global producer. Established in 2000, it has about 3,000 employees and boasts total assets of 6 billion yuan ($872 million)[email protected] (China Daily 08/20/2018 page4) wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
A pharmacist works at the dispensary of a cancer hospital in Hainan province in January. [Photo/VCG] The country's top medical insurance regulator plans more talks with pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of cancer drugs, following negotiations last year that are thought to have benefited a large number of patients. In October, 17 cancer-related medications were introduced to China's basic medical insurance program, meaning they would be eligible for reimbursement, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration. As of year's end, about 45,000 reimbursed payments for these drugs totaling 256 million yuan ($38 million) had been processed, said Xiong Xianjun, head of the administration's department that compiles the insurance program list. He spoke on Tuesday. Xiong said larger reimbursements were made possible by negotiations with pharmaceutical companies in September, leading to price reductions. Average reductions were 56.7 percent, Xiong said, adding that imported drugs can be purchased at a price about 36 percent lower than in nearby countries and regions. Medical institutions and drugstores across the country made purchases at the newly capped prices of 184 million units of medication last year. They cost about 562 million yuan, a cost that, given the particular drugs purchased, would have been almost triple the amount if bought at their original prices. This year, we're eyeing more negotiations with drug manufacturers to lower prices of more cancer drugs, especially the lifesaving types and those in critical need, he said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office. In recent years, China has raced to help cancer patients by pushing down drug prices, accelerating inspection and approval procedures for new drugs developed overseas, and improving medical services needed by the patients. Price negotiations, first tested by China in 2015, are expected to play a larger role in making cancer drugs more affordable and reducing patients' financial burden, he said. The administration said earlier this month that 34 medications that treat major cancers, including the 17 newly added drugs, have been included in the basic medical insurance program. Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said 802 cancer or other specialist hospitals had purchased these drugs and 259 among them bought at least four by year's end. The commission has urged all medical institutions to stock an adequate supply of such cancer drugs, and medical institutions should refrain from citing excuses to keep from doing so like the need to contain costs, Li said.
