Local and central government differ over GMO policy
CND的 原文：https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/9581-Local-and-central-government-differ-over-GMO-policy
FT 汉语转载：http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001071265/ce
2016年12月，位于中国最东北，粮食产量全国第一的黑龙江省颁布法律，禁止在该省辖区内种植转基因粮食作物。这是中国第一个省级行政单位立法禁止转基因粮食的种植。由于黑龙江生产了全国1/10的粮食，此举很快引起争议。Heilongjiang province, the bread basket of north-east China, has banned the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops – the country’s first such ban at the provincial level. Given that Heilongjiang produces one tenth of China’s staple food crops, the move has sparked controversy and raised questions about the future of GM foods policy in the world’s biggest consumer market.
非法的立法？
该法引起的第一个争议是其本身的合法性。这部省级法律是黑龙江省人大常委会新修订的《黑龙江省食品安全条例》（以下简称《条例》），相较修订前，增加了“本省行政区域内依法禁止种植转基因玉米、水稻、大豆等粮食作物”，以及“禁止非法生产、加工、经营、进境转基因或者含有转基因成分的食用农产品”的条文。
An illegal law?
The legitimacy of Heilongjiang’s law has been questioned. The ban took the form of an amendment to the Heilongjiang Food Safety Regulation by the national legislative body (called the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress), which added the following phrase: “The planting of GM staple crops including corn, rice and soya is banned in this province in accordance with the law,” along with, “the illegal production, processing, trading and import of GM foods or products containing GM ingredients.” While the ban took the form of a regulatory amendment it has the full force of a provincial law.
在国家层面，中国从未正式批准，但也从未彻底禁止任何转基因玉米、水稻或大豆的种植——前提是该品种取得所有商业化种植需要的许可，而目前中国所有的转基因粮食作物都还未走到这一步。与此同时，多年来中国给超过80种转基因产品颁发了允许进口用于加工的许可，转基因玉米和大豆的大量进口也已成为常态。China has neither officially approved the planting of GM corn, rice or soya nor banned it outright. So far, no GM staple crops have been granted a license for commercial planting. However, China does allow the import of 80 different types of GM product for use in food processing, and large quantities of GM corn and soya are regularly imported.
中国最著名的转基因技术支持者之一，拥有生物化学博士学位的科学作家方舟子认为，黑龙江在禁止国家并未禁止的活动。一旦北京批准某种转基因粮食品种的种植，那么《条例》就会导致下级政府违抗上级政府的状况。Blogger and science writer Fang Zhouzi holds a PhD in biochemistry and is one of China’s most prominent GM technology advocates. He says Heilongjiang is outlawing something that has not been banned at the national level. If the central government approves the planting of GM staple crops then Heilongjiang’s provincial regulations will raise a conflict of interest.
华中农业大学文法学院教授刘旭霞表达了类似看法，认为中国在国家层面没有禁止任何转基因作物的种植，因此黑龙江“依法禁止”中的“法”尚不存在。Similarly, Liu Xuxia, a professor of law at Huazhong Agricultural University in Hubei province, central China, argues that without a ban at the national level Heilongjiang cannot claim to be acting in accordance with the law.
中国的【非转基因】标识
但中国政法大学环境资源法研究所所长于文轩表示，从法理和立法法角度看，制定这一《条例》不存在问题。作为该《条例》上位法的《食品安全法》中，并没有限制地方做出更为严格的食品安全立法的规定。But other legal experts disagree. Yu Wenxuan, head of the Environmental and Resources Law Institute at the China University of Politics and Law, says that Heilongjiang’s amendment raises no problems in terms of legal principle and legislative process. Heilongjiang’s food safety regulations are based on China’s Food Safety Law, which does not preclude provinces from putting their own tougher rules in place as long as they do not conflict with national laws relating to food safety.
这就意味着，相关省区可以在符合《食品安全法》和其他相关的上位法规定的前提下，根据本省区的具体情况，因地制宜地作出符合本省社会经济发展需要的规定。当然，这样的地方立法规定的法律效力仅限于该省区的辖区内。
于还指出，在我国曾有过不少先例，在实施国家立法过程中，地方作出更为严格的规定。在2008年奥运会期间，北京市为落实《大气污染防治法》而实施的大气污染物排放管理措施要严于其他省份，就是一例。 Yu also pointed out precedents in which local governments have acted independently to go beyond standards required by national legislation. One example is the tougher air quality regulations Beijing put in place for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which were stricter than those applied elsewhere.
保护主义还是产地管理
除了掐灭这样的风险，作为粮食大省，黑龙江也可能希望借新法来扭转进口转基因作物对本土同类产品的压力。
Protectionism
Regardless of the dispute around legality, Heilongjiang may be hoping to use the new rules to protect local crop producers from competition posed by GM importers.
以大豆为例，经过长距离海运的美洲转基因大豆，其价格依然低于本土种植的非转基因品种。虽然国家只给少量转基因玉米和大豆品种颁发了进口许可，但超出监管范围的非法进口的状况已经发生——2015年，环保组织绿色和平调查曾发现，临近黑龙江的辽宁省市场上销售的玉米制品部分含有未被批准进口的转基因成分。For example, GM soya shipped in from the US is cheaper than locally grown non-GM soya. And although import licenses are only issued for a small number of types of corn and soya, illegal imports do happen, undercutting local producers. In 2015, an investigation by environmentalNGOGreenpeace found that some foods sold in Liaoning, one of Heilongjiang’s neighbours, contained GM corn of a type not approved for import.
中国农业科学院生物技术研究所研究员黄大昉表示，由于受到进口转基因大豆的冲击，黑龙江的非转基因大豆在成本上失去了竞争优势。黑龙江禁止转基因粮食作物种植，是想为地方保护主义披上“合法”的外衣，并非明智的选择。Huang Dafang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Biotechnology Research Institute, said that imported GM soya is beating Heilongjiang’s non-GM crops on price, and that the ban is legal cover for a protectionist policy.
中国大豆产业协会副会长刘登高则告诉中外对话，保护主产区农民利益不是保护主义，黑龙江作为国产大豆主产区，需要旗帜鲜明地保护产品的纯洁性。Liu Denggao, deputy head of the China Soya Industry Association, told chinadialoguethat there’s a difference between protectionism and protecting the interests of local farmers. As China’s major grower of soya beans, Heilongjiang needs to be clear in its support for the purity of local products.
他指出，世界上转基因大豆和非转基因大豆已经形成两种市场，两种价格，国际上的非转基因大豆价格远远高于国内非转基因大豆价格，黑龙江非转基因大豆也本应该和同类型的非转基因产品进行竞争。Globally, there are distinct markets and prices for GM and non-GM soya. Heilongjiang’s non-GM crop is much cheaper than non-GM soya on the international market, and this is what it should be competing with.
中国的【转基因】标识
《食品安全法》也规定，生产经营转基因食品应当按照规定显著标识。但由于执法不严，未经标识的廉价进口转基因大豆已经大规模占领国内消费市场，正在侵犯国产非转基因大豆种植者和加工企业的利益。 China’s Food Safety Law currently requires that GM food products be clearly labelled but lax law enforcement means that cheap unlabelled imported soya is dominating the Chinese market and damaging the interests of non-GM soya farmers and processors.
“转基因的冒充非转基因本身就说明他们心虚”，刘登高说，“中国大豆要理直气壮地标明，黑龙江的决定就是产地标识。”也就是说，《条例》实施后，消费者将能够确信，只要产地来自黑龙江的粮食作物就是非转基因的。“The fact that GM soya masquerades as non-GM shows a lack of confidence in farmers’ own product,” said Liu. “Chinese soya should be proudly labelled as such, and Heilongjiang has opted to mark its products with their source.” In other words, once the regulations come into effect, consumers can be sure that products from Heilongjiang are GM free.
争议仍将继续
这一新法似乎受到了黑龙江人的欢迎。在正式颁布法律前，2016年10月，黑龙江省人大常委会委托国家统计局黑龙江调查总队，在全省13个市（地）及部分市县针对禁止种植转基因农作物问题开展问卷调查，九成以上的受访者反对在黑龙省种植转基因农作物。
Opinions divided
The new regulation appears popular in Heilongjiang. In October, before it came into effect, the National Bureau of Statistics carried out a public opinion survey across 13 cities and some counties on attitudes towards a GM crop ban. More than 90% of respondents opposed the planting of GM crops in the province.
而据《科技日报》报道，参与该条例意见征求会的一位黑龙江官员明确表示，“这源于大多数消费者不接受转基因食品”。According to a Science and Technology Daily report, one provincial official said at a hearing on the rules that, “this has come from a rejection of GM foods by the majority of consumers.”
拒绝转基因食品也是中国其他地区多数消费者的态度。根据《社会蓝皮书：2017年中国社会形势分析与预测》中一份来自中国科学技术发展战略研究院与科技日报社的公众抽样调查数据，公众对转基因接受度低，且呈现显著下降趋势。七成以上的受访者明确表示不愿意吃转基因食品，表示愿意吃的不到两成。 According to survey data from the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, and the Society Blue Paper: Analysis and Prediction of Social Trends in China 2017, public levels of acceptance of GM technology are low and falling. Seven in ten respondents said they were unwilling to eat GM foods, while less than two in ten said they were willing to do so. (One in ten had no preference).
“挺转”的一方则大多为掌握着知识界话语权的科学家，尤其是分子生物学界。Those in favour of GM foods are mostly scientists, particularly biotechnologists, whose arguments are largely couched in academic discussion.
配图：美国的标准GM Free和GM标识
在中国科学院院士、北京大学生命科学学院教授许智宏看来，近年来转基因争议仍朝着白热化方向发展，与当前中国的食品安全环境有很大关系，民众常常把食品安全监管与科学问题混淆。 Xu Zhihong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Peking University’s School of Life Sciences, thinks the ferocity of the debate and rejection of scientific argument is largely due to the public's deep-seated insecurityabout the state's grip on food security, caused by alitany of past food scandals.
过去几年，食品安全问题频发，民众对食品安全本身持怀疑态度，这个怀疑某种程度上迁移到了对转基因的认识上。Recent years have seen frequent food safety scares leaving the public sceptical of whether food in China is safe. That scepticism is manifested in attitudes towards GM foods.
目前没有迹象表明黑龙江的转基因粮食禁令收到了来自中央政府的异议。但值得注意的是，北京也从未停止推进转基因粮食商业化种植的步伐。So far there are no signs that China’s central government objects to Heilongjiang’s move. But it is worth noting that Beijing is promoting the commercialisation of GM crops.
In April 2016, Liao Xiyuan, head of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Science, Technology and Education Department, said at a press conference that the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) would see China push forward with commercialisation of GM pest-resistant corn. This suggests that the clash between local and state laws is likely to be an ongoing issue. 2016年4月，农业部科技教育司司长廖西元在新闻发布会上明确表示，十三五期间（2016-2020年）国家将推进转基因抗虫玉米的产业化进程。或许，一场地方法律与全国法律间的冲突并非毫无可能。
