File Photo of Roche Diagnostics

 
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche was criticized by Wuhan Chinese scientists on Thursday as a subsidiary in Argentina labeled its test kits with “Coronavirus de Wuhan” instead of COVID-19, a violation of the non-discrimination principle in naming the virus.  

Although Roche’s subsidiary in China posted a statement on its Chinese website apologizing for the mistake and its Argentina subsidiary that showed “Coronavirus de Wuhan” had already been deleted. 

Chinese scientists said that was not enough and urged Roche to apologize in both Chinese and English on its headquarters’ website to send a firm message that opposes discrimination against the region or country where the first confirmed case was discovered. 

Hong Dengfeng, a professor of the Department of seed science and Engineering at Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, said “the World Health Organization has already named the virus COVID-19, and it is a universally accepted value that the naming of a virus should not involve any discrimination against any region. As a Chinese from Wuhan, I cannot accept this kind of discrimination.”

“The statement that Roche’s subsidiary in China made could only read by Chinese people, but its products are widely used by people in America and Europe, and they can see such mistake as well, so I don’t think the apology is enough,” he noted, according to Red Star News, a Chinese news website, reported on Thursday.

Zhang Qifa, another professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, told the Red Star News that Roche had earned a lot of profit from the Chinese market, so it should learn to respect China and the Chinese and follow the international norm as it is a leading pharmaceutical company worldwide. 

Currently, Roche’s website does not feature the term “Wuhan coronavirus.” 

Global Times