Official blows whistle on former drug chief

Accusations of manipulating product names to benefit local producers

An official from the graft watchdog of Hunan province on Tuesday made a high profile tip-off against a former chief of the State drug regulator via Sina Weibo, accusing him of corruption in the honeysuckle flower industry, which is used to make medicine.

Analysts say it is rare to see an anti-graft official reporting another high-level official, and say it represents progress in the national anti-graft campaign.

Lu Qun, deputy director of the anti-corruption office at the Hunan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, posted on his personal verified Sina Weibo account a spate of posts accusing Shao Mingli, former head of the China State Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), of corruption and alleged he was responsible for reducing the popularity of the honeysuckle produced in the South, to create an advantage for the honeysuckles grown in his hometown.

Under Shao's manipulation, the Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission renamed the honeysuckle flower produced in South as the "wild honeysuckle flower" and made the name "honeysuckle flower" exclusively for those produced in Shao's home province in Shandong under the definition listed in the nation's Pharmacopeia, which underwent a major amendment in 2005, Lu said.

Sales of the less famous "wild honeysuckle flower" declined in the South, as the name "honeysuckle flower" is more recognized by customers, though they are very similar.

This means northern producers, especially those from Shao's home province of Shandong, have benefited.

Lu said that he started investigating the matter in May after receiving complaints from farmers in southern provinces such as Hunan and Guizhou.

Shao served as the head of CFDA from 2005 until 2012, and now chairs the Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission.

The Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission Tuesday argued that the name change in 2005 was an academic consideration instead of the favoritism suggested by Lu.

"I'm holding evidence of Shandong's honeysuckle flower suppliers collectively bribing the media as well as a communications company in Chongqing, bribing experts and media to defame the honeysuckle flowers produced in the southern China," Lu said in the interview with Sina.

Lu admitted he does not have direct evidence of Shao colluding with Shandong suppliers, but he does have a conflict of interest being a Shandong native. He also said staff at the CFDA can prove that he is intervening in the matter.

Such a high-profile corruption tip-off from a government official against an official from another department and of senior level is rare, commented Li Danyang, a research fellow of public administration at Beijing-based Beihang University.

Li said despite the fact that Shao's graft charge has not been proven, corruption within the pharmaceutical industry has been a serious problem because of the lack of transparency and supervision in terms of CFDA management.

"I'm not afraid of revenge from any groups or individuals," Lu told the Global Times on Tuesday night.

"I will continue to provide evidence and to reveal the authorities' lies … I will not stop the charges against the CFDA until the honeysuckle flowers produced in South China are officially recognized," he said.