Chinese academic warns there are legal risks to normalising Covid-19 testing

In opinion piece, Zhao Hong, a law professor, also points to financial and labour costs and inadequate transparency and supervision

She says penalties announced by local authorities for not complying with testing orders are not supported by Chinese laws

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High school students get tested as they prepare to take the annual gaokao college entrance exams in Shenyang, Liaoning province on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 8 Jun 2022

A Chinese law professor has spoken out about normalising compulsory Covid-19 testing, warning there are legal risks involved and a lack of transparency and supervision.

Zhao Hong, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, also said penalties recently announced by local authorities for not complying with testing orders were not supported by Chinese laws and could infringe on individual rights.

“‘Detention for not taking a nucleic acid test’ is not applicable under Article 50 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law,” Zhao wrote in an opinion piece published on news website The Paper on Sunday.

She was referring to last week’s announcement by the Siping government in Jilin province that residents who skipped two PCR tests would face 10 days of administrative detention, a 500 yuan (US$75) fine, and blacklisting. The city government’s directive was later withdrawn after public criticism.

The law professor said local governments did not have the right to declare a state of emergency in their area without permission, according to the Emergency Response Law and the Emergency Regulations for Public Health Emergencies.

A delivery worker gets tested in Shanghai, one of many places setting up permanent testing sites. Photo: Bloomberg

Zhao also said there was no legal basis – and substantial legal risks – for normalising PCR testing, that it had huge financial and labour costs, and lacked transparency and adequate supervision.