Ethics Divide China and the West
醫學倫理規範 中西不同
By Didi Kirsten Tatlow

BEIJING – China is spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually to become a leader in biomedical research, building scores of laboratories and training thousands of scientists.
中國每年投入數千億美元，興建數十座實驗室，栽培成千上萬的科學家，要成為生物醫學研究領域的A咖。

But some experts worry ethical boundaries are being crossed.
但是，一些專家擔心，中國正踰越生醫界的倫理界限。

Scientists around the world were shocked in April when a team led by Huang Junjiu, 34, at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, published the results of an experiment in editing the genes of human embryos.
今年4月，廣州中山大學的黃軍就（34歲）帶領的研究團隊，發表改造人類胚胎基因的實驗結果，令世界各地的科學家震驚。

The technology, called Crispr-Cas9, may one day be used to eradicate inheritable illnesses. But in theory, it also could be used to change such traits as eye color or intelligence.
這項名為Crispr-Cas9的技術，有朝一日或許能用於根除遺傳疾病。但在理論上，也可用來改變眼睛顏色或智商。

The Chinese tried to modify a gene that causes a blood disorder called beta-thalassemia. The experiment failed in 85 embryos.
黃軍就試圖改造導致乙型地中海型貧血的一個基因。85個胚胎的實驗都失敗了。

Scientists in the West generally object to this sort of research on the grounds that it amounts to genetic engineering of humans.
西方科學家普遍反對此類研究，理由是研究相當於人類基因工程。

“The consensus among the scientific community is, ‘not for now,’ ” said Huso Yi, the director of research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Center for Bioethics.
「科學界的共識是，『現在不要做，』」香港中文大學生命倫理中心研究總監李湖樹表示。

Chinese scientists seem in no mood to wait.
中國科學家似乎無意等待。

“I don’t think China wants to take a moratorium,” Mr. Yi said. “People are saying they can’t stop the train of mainland Chinese genetics because it’s going too fast.”
「我認為中國不想踩煞車，」李湖樹說。「人們說擋不住中國大陸遺傳學的列車，因為衝太快了。」

Training in ethics for Chinese scientists was introduced, under pressure from the West, only a dozen years ago.
直到十幾年前，中國才在西方壓力下開始對科學家進行倫理教育。

“The ‘red line’ in the West and in China are not too similar,” said Deng Rui, a medical ethicist at Shanxi Medical University. “Confucian thinking says that someone becomes a person after they are born,” he added. “That is different from the United States or other countries with a Christian influence, where because of religion they may feel research on embryos is not O.K.”
「西方國家和中國的『紅線』不太一樣，」山西醫科大學醫學倫理學專家鄧蕊表示。「儒家思想認為生而為人，」他又說：「這與美國或其他受基督教影響的國家不同。由於宗教關係，這些國家可能感覺不宜進行胚胎研究。」

The state does set limits, Ms. Deng said: “Our ‘red line’ here is that you can only experiment on embryos that are younger than 14 days old.”
鄧蕊表示，國家確實有限制：「我們的『紅線』是實驗只能用14天以內的人類胚胎。」

Chinese scientists adhere to globally accepted ethical and scientific norms, said Zhai Xiaomei, a member of the country’s National Medical Ethical Committee. But many scientists experience pressure not to do so, she acknowledged.
中國醫學倫理專家委員會委員翟曉梅說，中國科學家遵從國際認可的倫理和科學規範。但她承認，很多科學家承受別照規範做的壓力。

“Inside China, there are people who are opposed to international standards, citing cultural differences,” Ms. Zhai said. “This force is actually quite powerful sometimes.”
「我們國內有一些人以文化差異為由，反對國際準則，」翟曉梅說。「這股勢力有時候挺強大的。」

In the case of Dr. Huang’s experiment, the national committee decided that it was ethically acceptable because it “was not for reproductive purposes,” Ms. Zhai said, a stance that surprised some overseas scientists.
以黃軍就的實驗來說，翟曉梅表示，中國醫學倫理專家委員會認定在倫理上沒有問題，因為「並非以生殖為目的」，此一立場讓海外一些科學家驚訝。

“They chose to use embryos that would soon be destroyed. So far, we have been regarding it as a very fundamental research, instead of interventions in or editing of germ cells,” Ms. Zhai said.
「他們選擇馬上就要毀掉的胚胎。所以到目前為止我們始終視其為非常基礎的一個研究，而非對生殖細胞的干預或編輯，」翟曉梅說。

But she struck a warning note: “If you want to edit genes in germ cells with the intention of using this right away, it’s absolutely not O.K., because the technology has yet to become mature.”
但她也提出警告：「如果你要編輯生殖細胞的基因，而且想立刻使用，這絕對不行，因為技術還不成熟。」

Disturbed by the recent study, Rao Yi, a professor of biology and director of the four-year-old Center of Life Sciences at Peking University, run jointly with Tsinghua University, warned that scientific research in China urgently needed more effective ethical oversight.
北京大學－清華大學生命科學聯合中心主任饒毅，對最近的這項研究備感困擾。他警告，中國的科學研究亟需更加有效的倫理監督。該中心成立了四年。

“The more technology we have, the more dangerous we are to ourselves and entire humankind,” Dr. Rao said.
「我們掌握的技術越多，我們對自己和整個人類來說就越危險，」饒毅說。

Chinese scientists are generally poorly paid, he said, but may receive a bonus of up to $32,000 per article from the state for publishing in international scientific journals, providing financial incentives for pushing the boundaries.
他說，中國科學家普遍收入較低，但如果在國際科學期刊發表文章，可能會收到國家發放的獎金，每篇最高可拿3.2萬美元，提供科學家突破限制的金錢誘因。

“Do first, talk later” is the attitude of many, Dr. Rao and two colleagues wrote recently on iScientist, an online community for Chinese researchers.
饒毅和兩名同儕日前在為中國科研人員設置的微博「賽先生」寫道，很多人抱持「先做再說」的態度。

More unpleasant scientific surprises are looming, several scientists said.
一些科學家表示，更多令人錯愕的科學發現即將出現。

“Right now, human gene editing is the main thing,” Mr. Yi said. Geneticists in China “don’t want to be guided by Western people.”
「目前，編輯人類基因是重頭戲，」李湖樹說。中國的遺傳學家「不想受西方人指揮。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/30/science/a-scientific-ethical-divide-between-china-and-west.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20150630/c30ethics/zh-hant/

2015-07-14聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 張佑生譯 原文參見紐時週報十版下