Thermo Fisher to discontinue selling genetic sequencing equipment in China

Thermo Fisher, a US-based biotechnology giant, on Thursday, announced it will stop selling genetic sequencing equipment in the restive Xinjiang province of China, where local minority population have allegedly been subject to persecution by authorities. "We recognise the importance of considering how our products and services are used -- or may be used -- by our customer," Thermo Fisher said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.

The Massachusetts-based company said its policy is "consistent with Thermo Fisher's values, ethics code and policies" and followed "fact-specific assessments." In the last few months, the company has been facing criticism that its equipment was being used by Chinese authorities to persecute the minority Muslim population.

Senator Tom Cotton welcomed Thermo Fisher's decision. "Thermo Fischer has scientifically done the right thing by halting sales of genetic-sequencing technology in China's Xinjiang province. "China is committing human-rights abuses on an industrial scale in Xinjiang. American companies must not be complicit in these crimes," Cotton said.

"In Xinjiang, in northwestern China, the program was known as 'Physicals for All'. From 2016 to 2017, nearly 36 million people took part in it... The authorities collected DNA samples, images of irises and other personal data...," The New York Times said in a news report on Thursday. "China wants to make the country's Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, more subservient to the Communist Party. It has detained up to a million people in what China calls "re-education" camps, drawing condemnation from human rights groups and a threat of sanctions from the Trump administration," the daily said.

According to The New York Times, scientists affiliated with China's police used equipment made by Thermo Fisher. "For comparison with Uighur DNA, they also relied on genetic material from people around the world that was provided by Kenneth Kidd, a prominent Yale University geneticist," it said.