Hong Kong revoked the visa of a man identified by local media as the disgraced Chinese scientist who created the world’s first genetically altered babies, hours after he announced he was headed to the territory to work on gene therapies.
(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong revoked the visa of a man identified by local media as the disgraced Chinese scientist who created the world’s first genetically altered babies, hours after he announced he was headed to the territory to work on gene therapies.
He Jiankui, a researcher who drew international condemnation when he revealed his experiment in 2018, was granted the work permit in early February under Hong Kong’s new Top Talent Pass Scheme, which is intended to attract more highly-skilled workers to Hong Kong.
Without naming He, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said that the city’s Immigration Department had reviewed a “relevant application” in response to media reports about a pass holder who “had been imprisoned for illegal medical practice” and now declared this person’s pass invalid.
The person involved was He, local media including the South China Morning Post reported.
“After reviewing the relevant application, the Immigration Department suspects that someone has obtained a visa/entry permit with false statements,” the statement said. “The director of Immigration has declared this person’s visa/entry permit invalid in accordance with the law and will conduct criminal investigation for follow-up.”
The reports about the high-profile doctor securing a talent pass come at an awkward time for Hong Kong, which is trying to reverse a worker exodus prompted by strict Covid restrictions and border controls.
Those limits were lifted and the city announced its program “to attract top talents with rich work experience and good academic qualifications from all over the world to explore opportunities in Hong Kong,” according to the Immigration Department website.
Lifelong Ban
At a press briefing Tuesday in Beijing, He said he planned to explore potential opportunities to work in Hong Kong on gene therapies for rare diseases.
“I am currently contacting Hong Kong’s universities, research institutions and companies,” He said. “If there’s confirmed, suitable opportunities, I will consider coming to work in Hong Kong.”
In 2019, He was sentenced to three years in prison. He received a lifelong ban on working in reproductive technology and a 3 million yuan ($436,380) fine by a Chinese court for “illegal medical practice.”
His previous work, when he edited the genes of embryos to create babies that were resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, was sharply criticized by the international scientific community. It was denounced as an abuse of the newly emerging gene-engineering tools and methods that still aren’t fully understood.
He recruited couples with HIV who didn’t want to pass the virus to their offspring. Two women became pregnant and three gene-edited babies were born.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Chris Sun, told reporters that applicants under the Top Talent program currently aren’t required to provide their criminal records. On Tuesday night, authorities announced they would change the application process Wednesday and mandate applicants declare any criminal convictions.
–With assistance from Iain Marlow.
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