Beijing Freezes Social Media Accounts Of Health Care Provider DXY

The Chinese government has suspended the social media accounts of major e-health provider DXY, one of few reliable sources for health information in China, James Palmer reported for Foreign Policy.

Photo Insert: Tencent is a minor stakeholder in health care unicorn DXY.

Palmer said the company seemingly faces government action for questioning Beijing’s promotion of traditional Chinese medicine—a dangerous pseudoscience as practiced in the mainland—to fight COVID-19.

Industry experts have plagiarized or falsified research papers and medicines promoted as herbal often contain unlabeled quantities of conventional drugs, such as steroids.

Government backing for traditional Chinese medicine, promoted as an alternative to Western science, has increased under Chinese President Xi Jinping. Its pharmaceuticals, which include ingredients like pangolin scales and rhino horns as well as substances derived from bats, are now a $27-billion business.

The move against DXY is concerning because the quality of health information online in China is already bad, as Chinese academics and journalists pointed out this week: Baidu, China’s main search engine, has faced numerous medical scandals for promoting false information.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic