FAQ on the report of anti-corruption in China in September 2013

Q1. What’s the new policy will be executed to anti-corruption?

A:On September 23, 2013The Ministry of Finance, the National Government Affairs Administration, and the Administration of Government Affairs, directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (“CPC”), jointly issued the Administrative Measures on Conferences of Central and State Departments (“Measures”), which target cutting expenditure on official meetings by central government departments. Such meeting expenditures, which include food and accommodation fees for attendees, are reported to have increased year-by-year due to oversized or unapproved meetings held by certain government departments. These are considered to have led to the serious waste of public funds and created more opportunities for corruption. The Measures specify the standard costs that should be applicable to four categories of meetings at different levels and of different sizes.

Q2.What are new actions on anti-corruption?

A: (a) On September 5, 2013, Yang Dacai (“Yang”), the former Head of Work Safety Administration of Shanxi Province, was sentenced by the Intermediate People’s Court of Xi’an City, Shanxi Province, to 14 years in prison for taking bribes and holding a huge amount of property from unidentified sources.

   (b) On September 11, 2013, Zhang Shengtao (“Zhang”), the former Deputy Mayor of Anyang City, Henan Province, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Intermediate People’s Court of Zhumadian City, Henan Province.

   (c) On September 12, 2013, Cai Bin (“Cai”), the former Political Commissar of Panyu district branch of Guangzhou Urban Administrative Committee, was sentenced by the People’s Court of Haizhu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province to 11.5 years in prison for accepting bribes.

(d) On September 22, 2013, Bo Xilai (“Bo”), a former member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and the former Municipality Party Secretary of Chongqing Municipality, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Intermediate People’s Court of Jinan City, Shandong Province for accepting bribes, embezzlement, and abuse of power. Bo was also deprived of political rights for life, and all of his personal assets were confiscated.

(e) On September 30, 2013, Yang Hanzhong (“Yang”), the former Deputy Secretary of Political Science and Law Enforcement Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was sentenced to death with two years’ reprieve by the Intermediate People’s Court of Baotou City for taking bribes and abuse of powers.

Q3. What’s the new trend of anti-bribery in the area of pharmaceutical industry?

A: China’s anti-bribery investigation into the pharmaceutical industry, which began with investigations into the British drug company GlaxoSmithKline, is ongoing. Authorities have been probing numerous international and Chinese drug companies with regard to corruption and pricing issues. On 13 September 2013, Bayer, a leading German pharmaceutical company, admitted that it had been visited by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. Bayer reported that it was cooperating with the authorities with regard to an investigation. On 17 September 2013, the pharmaceutical company, Novartis said that it would conduct an investigation into whether Alcon, its ophthalmic production department, had bribed doctors in China. The Chinese domestic insulin manufacturer Gan & Lee, likewise said on 11 September 2013 that it was investigating allegations published by a magazine regarding its bribery of doctors over the past five years.

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