中國科學家與西方同行的倫理學分歧

BEIJing — China is spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually in an effort to become a leader in biomedical research, building scores of laboratories and training thousands of scientists.

北京——爲了成爲生物醫學研究領域的領軍者，中國正在每年投入數以億計的資金，用來建設上百座的實驗室，培養成千上萬的科學家。

But the rush to the front ranks of science may come at a price: Some experts worry that medical researchers in China are stepping over ethical boundaries long accepted in the West.

但是，這種急於躋身科學界前列的做法，可能會帶來一些問題：一些專家擔心，中國的醫學研究人員正在跨越西方長期遵循的倫理界限。

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，34歲的黃軍就在廣州中山大學領導的一個科研團隊發表了修改人類胚胎基因的實驗結果，震驚了世界各地的科學家。

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, and to ensure that the changes are passed on to future generations.

這項技術名爲CRISPR-Cas9，有朝一日或許可以會被用於根除遺傳疾病。但在理論上，它也可以用來改變眼睛顏色和智商這樣的遺傳特徵，並讓這種變異傳遞到後代身上。

Dr. Huang and his colleagues tried to modify a gene that causes a blood disorder called beta-thalassemia. The experiment failed in 85 embryos. Even so, to many in global science, it was a line that should not have been crossed.

黃軍及其同事試圖修改導致血液疾病β-地中海貧血的一個基因。在85個胚胎上，實驗都失敗了。即便如此，在全球科學界的很多人看來，這條界限不應該被跨越。

Scientists in the West generally abjure this sort of research on the grounds that it amounts to genetic engineering of humans. In any event, the technology is still in the earliest stages of development.

西方科學家普遍止步於這一類研究的門外，理由是它相當於開展人類基因工程。無論如何，這項技術仍處於發展的最早期階段。

“The consensus among the scientific community is, ‘not for now,’ ” said Huso Yi, the director of research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Centre 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。

Yet Chinese scientists seem in no mood to wait.

然而，中國的科學家似乎無心等待。

“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.”

“我認爲中國不會想要中止行動，”李湖樹說。“大家在說中國大陸遺傳學的滾滾車輪無法阻止，因爲跑得太快了。”

China is quickly building infrastructure for scientific research.

中國正在快速推進科研基礎設施的建設。

In 2013, the last year for which statistics are available, the state invested more than 1.18 trillion renminbi, or $190 billion, which is more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product, in “the development of scientific research and experimentation,” according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

現已公佈的最新統計數據來自2013年。中國國家統計局的資料顯示，中國在“科學研發和實驗”上投入了逾1.18萬億元人民幣，超過國內生產總值的2%。

In 2011, the state invested about $140 billion, or 1.84 percent of its G.D.P., the bureau said.

國家統計局的資料還顯示，2011年，中國在這方面的投入爲8680億元，相當於國內生產總值的1.84%。

“The gap between China’s new bioscience technologies and that of the West is closing,” said Zhao Xiaomei, a member of the country’s National Medical Ethical Committee and a professor at Peking Union Medical College.

“在新的生物科學技術上，中國跟發達國家的差距，是日益在縮小，”中國醫學倫理委員會成員、北京協和醫科大學教授翟曉梅說。

But the research juggernaut is gathering momentum in a country where training in ethics for scientists was introduced, under pressure from the West, only a dozen years ago.

不過在中國，這股宏大的科研力量正在不斷向前推進。僅僅從十幾年前開始，中國纔在西方的壓力下對科學家進行倫理教育。

“The ‘red line’ in the West and in China are not too similar,” Deng Rui, a medical ethicist at Shanxi Medical University, said in a telephone interview. “Ethics are a question of culture, and that is about tradition, especially where it touches on human life.”

“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接受電話採訪時表示。“倫理是文化問題，與傳統有關，特別是在人類生命方面。”

“Confucian thinking says that someone becomes a person after they are born. 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.”

“儒家思想認爲生而爲人。這與美國或其他受基督教影響的國家不同。由於宗教的關係，這些國家可能感覺做胚胎研究是不可行的。”

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，國家確實設定了限制，“我們的‘紅線’是隻有14天以內的人類胚胎可以用於實驗研究。”

The proscription is contained in a document issued by the health and science ministries in 2003. It now urgently needs updating, she said.

衛生部和科技部2003年聯合頒佈的一份文件下達了上述禁令。鄧蕊表示，這一規定現在亟需更新。

Chinese scientists adhere to globally accepted ethical and scientific norms, said Ms. Zhai Xiaomei, a member of the country’s National Medical Ethical Committee and a professor at Peking Union Medical College.

翟曉梅教授稱，中國科學家遵從國際認可的倫理和科學規範。

But many scientists experience pressure not to do so, she acknowledged.

但她承認，很多科學家承受着要他們不這麼做的壓力。

“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背景不同爲由來反對國際準則，”翟曉梅說。“國內這個勢力有的時候挺強大的。”

“For example, they say we should use our homegrown Confucian thoughts to solve problems, as those international standards are from the West while we have our Eastern culture. But we absolutely disagree with this point of view.”

“比如說我們要用儒家的思想，可以解決很多東西，要用我們本土的，國際準則是西方的東西，我們是東方的文化。但我們是堅決不同意這個觀點的。”

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.

翟曉梅表示，對於黃軍就的實驗，中國醫學倫理委員會判定這在倫理上是可以接受的，因爲它“並不是以生殖爲目的”。這種立場出乎了一些外國科學家的意料。

“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.

“他們選擇的是馬上就要毀掉的胚胎。所以到目前爲止我們把它看作是非常非常基礎的一個研究，而沒有把它看作是對生殖細胞的干預，或者叫‘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.”

但她也發出了警告，“如果你要做生殖細胞的編輯，而且要馬上把它用上，那絕對是不行的，因爲你現在技術是不成熟的。”

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.

最近的這項研究讓北京大學－清華大學生命科學聯合中心主任、生物學教授饒毅備受困擾。他警告稱，中國的科學研究亟需更加有效的倫理監督。該聯合中心成立了四年。

“The more technology we have, the more dangerous we are to ourselves and entire humankind,” Mr. 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.

他表示，中國科學家通常收入較低，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，最多可達每篇20萬元。這爲推動他們突破限制提供了資金激勵。

“Do first, talk later” is the attitude of many, Mr. Rao and two colleagues wrote recently on iScientist, an online community for Chinese researchers.

饒毅和另外兩名華人科學家爲面向中國科研人員的微信公衆號“賽先生”擔任主編。他們近期在上面寫道，很多人抱有“先做了再說”的態度。

A global medical ethics body run by the World Health Organization or the United Nations should be set up to regulate scientific experimentation, Mr. Rao said.

饒毅認爲，世界衛生組織(World Health Organization)或聯合國應該成立一家全球性的醫學倫理監督機構，對科學實驗加以規範。

More unpleasant scientific surprises are looming, several scientists said. “Right now, human gene editing is the main thing,” Mr. Yi said. Geneticists in China “don’t want to be guided by Western people.”

一些科學家表示，即將出現更多令人不快的科學新發現。“目前，人類基因編輯是焦點所在，”李湖樹說。中國的遺傳學家“不想受西方人的領導”。

The mind-set among Chinese researchers, according to Mr. Yi: “ ‘We’re going to do it, then see what’s wrong, then fix it. But the conceptual discussion may be missing.’ ”

李湖樹稱，中國研究人員的想法是，“我們先去做，然後看看有什麼問題，再解決問題。但這中間可能缺少對觀念的討論。”