Controversial doctor who gene-edited babies gets Hong Kong visa
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Dr He Jiankui said he plans to explore potential opportunities to work in Hong Kong on gene therapies for rare diseases.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING - The controversial Chinese scientist who created the world’s first genetically altered babies has received a top-talent visa
Dr He Jiankui, a researcher who drew widespread condemnation worldwide when he revealed his experiment in 2018, was granted the work permit in early February under the city’s newly launched Top Talent Pass Scheme.
At a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Dr He said he plans 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 are 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 three million yuan (S$584,000) fine by a Chinese court for “illegal medical practice”.
His previous work, when he edited the genes of embryos to create babies who were resistant to the virus that causes Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was sharply criticised by the international scientific community.
It was denounced as an abuse of the newly emerging gene-engineering tools and methods that are still not fully understood.
For his experimental work, Dr He recruited couples with HIV who did not want to pass the infection to their offspring. Two women become pregnant and three gene-edited babies were born.
The renewed controversy tied to the discredited scientist risks tainting the high-profile policy Hong Kong’s leaders crafted to counter a talent exodus.
From 2020, tens of thousands of people left the city after Covid-19 pandemic curbs and national security laws restricted activities. Among those who left were the bankers, lawyers and other professionals who helped make the city a freewheeling, international entrepot.
Hong Kong started the new visa programme on Dec 28, 2022. More than 10,000 applications have been filed and at least 7,700 were approved, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported.
The visa scheme “seeks 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 website of the city’s immigration department.
An applicant should meet normal immigration requirements, including having no criminal record and posing “no security or criminal concerns” to Hong Kong, it says.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun told reporters on Tuesday that applicants under the scheme currently are not required to provide any criminal records. The authorities review and adjust the procedure from time to time, he said, declining to comment on individual cases.
Mr Sun added that any false statements in applications could lead to visas being revoked.
Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who was jailed after genetically engineering human babies, said he had attained a Hong Kong visa and would continue his research there.
PHOTO: AFP
Dr He is working with artificial intelligence technology to bring down the cost of gene therapies, a different approach to treating harmful mutations in a person’s genetic make-up.
He said he is aware of the attention surrounding his efforts and vowed to follow the law, as well as moral and international consensus.
“I plan to organise an international ethics advisory committee to review my future scientific research projects and ensure openness and transparency,” he said in response to media questions. BLOOMBERG
