2016年CRI China Curbs Baidu Healthcare Ads Business after Student's Death

 

Wei Zexi, a 21-year-old college student who died last month of a rare form of cancer, had undergone a clinically unproven treatment at a military hospital in Beijing.

The treatment cost Wei's family around 200,000 yuan and was unsuccessful. He died on April 12.

Before his death, Wei expressed anger at the hospital and search engine Baidu in an online post, accusing them of falsely claiming a high success rate for the treatment.

The treatment was a joint¹ project between the hospital and a Shanghai-based private bio-tech company

The Cyberspace² Administration of China looked into the case and found that Baidu's search results had influenced Wei's choice of medical treatment.

It also found that Baidu relied excessively on profits from paid listings in search results, and did not clearly label such listings as a commercial promotion³.

The company has now been ordered to clean up in-search healthcare adverts⁴, and the positioning of paid-for search adverts of any kind cannot be based only on the highest bidder⁵.

A statement from the internet, industry and health regulators stipulate⁶ that the number of such adverts must also account for no more than 30 percent of a page of search results.

A spokeswoman for Baidu said it accepted the regulator's decision and said it would implement⁷ the requirements placed on it following the investigation⁸.

The company says it will set aside one billion yuan, or about 150 million U.S. dollars, to compensate⁹ verified losses from fraud.

The investigation by the health and military authorities have also confirmed wrongdoing by the military hospital in Beijing in the treatment of the young cancer patient.

The hospital has been asked to terminate all projects outsourced to medical service providers, including the Shanghai firm. 

The authorities have also been ordered to review all joint projects between military hospitals and private companies.

Baidu's Nasdaq-listed shares fell more than 3 percent in morning trade on Monday following the regulators commments. 

Analysts¹⁰ estimate healthcare accounts for 20 to 30 percent of the company's search revenue. Search revenues represent some 84 percent of the web services firm's total sales in 2015.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 adverts   

advertisements 广告，做广告

参考例句：

• the adverts on television 电视广告
• The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。

5 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

6 stipulate   

vt.规定，（作为条件）讲定，保证

参考例句：

• International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
• Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。