Low-cost DNA testing tools from China could present a national security risk, with the potential for genetic data collected in Taiwan to be leaked to China, a cell biologist said yesterday.
The Web site of a local genetic testing company says that it has collaborated with BGI Genomics (華大基因) since 2014, providing its non-invasive fetal trisomy (NIFTY) test in more than 200 obstetrics and gynecology clinics nationwide, including Taipei City Hospital’s Heping Fuyou Branch.
In 2021, Reuters reported that BGI was using the test — one of the most popular in the world — to collect genetic data from millions of women around the globe, and it was sharing that data with the Chinese military for genetic research.
Photo: Reuters
Although BGI said it has never provided data from its NIFTY tests to Chinese authorities for national security or national defense purposes, the NIFTY test has faced scrutiny from regulators in Australia, Canada, Germany and other countries, while the US in March added two subsidiaries of BGI to its trade blacklist.
Academia Sinica Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology distinguished visiting fellow Wu Jen-leih (吳金洌) said that in addition to BGI, a Beijing-based bioinformatics company, Novogene (諾禾致源), also has laboratories and affiliated agencies in more than a dozen countries, including Taiwan, the US, the UK and Singapore.
The owner of a local genetics company said that the genomic testing and sequencing market in Taiwan can be categorized into four segments, with research and cancer screening accounting for the largest proportion of the market, worth billions of dollars.
Local agents collect specimens from research centers and send most of them to laboratories in China or to the laboratories of subsidiaries of Chinese companies in Southeast Asia for testing, they said.
Some companies have equipment in research centers in Taiwan, which might contain spyware that could send genomic data to China, they said.
Wu said that if genomic data are leaked to China and used for malicious purposes, it could cause a serious national security problem.
He said the government should follow the US in setting up access control systems for genetic data and support the local development of DNA testing tools.
While the US and many European countries developed their own DNA testing and genomic sequencing tools, Taiwan still allows many foreign agents to install equipment made by Chinese companies in hospitals and allows Hong Kong-funded companies to purchase local genetics companies, a genetics company owner said.
The government should support local companies by launching large-scale research projects and banning the use of Chinese equipment, they said.
Department of Medical Affairs Deputy Director-General Liu Yu-ching (劉玉菁) said that the Regulations Governing the Application of Specific Medical Examination Techniques and Medical Devices (特定醫療技術檢查檢驗醫療儀器施行或使用管理辦法) was revised in 2021, requiring hospitals to protect personal data collected through DNA testing.
If laboratories leak genomic data, they could be suspended from running tests, Liu said.
Additional reporting by Wu Liang-yi
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old