China imposes record fine on vaccine maker

中国对疫苗制造商处以历史最高罚款

China has imposed a potentially crippling $1.3 billion fine on the company responsible for faulty vaccines given to hundreds of thousands of children, sending its strongest signal yet of a stricter legal environment for the scandal-prone industry.

中国对一家导致数十万儿童接种问题疫苗的公司处以 13 亿美元罚款，此惩罚很可能令该公司陷入困境。这是迄今为止中国发出的最强硬的信号，标志着这个易出现丑闻的行业将面临更为严格的法律环境。
impose on 把...强加于...
vaccine n.疫苗
crippling adj.有严重危害的，造成重大打击的
scandal-prone adj.有丑闻倾向的

The fine against the Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Co. dwarfs previous penalties imposed on vaccine makers embroiled in safety scandals. The government also barred Gao Junfang, the company’s chairwoman, and 14 other executives from working in the vaccine industry. They are still under investigation and could face criminal penalties.

此次对长春长生生物技术公司的罚款，使先前对其他卷入安全丑闻的疫苗制造商的处罚相形见绌。政府还禁止该公司董事长高俊芳及其他 14 名高管从事疫苗行业。他们仍在接受调查，并可能面临刑事处罚。
biotechnology n.生物技术
dwarf v.使显得矮小，使黯然失色
penalty n.惩罚，处罚
embroil v.使卷入(纷争)
bar v.禁止，不准

“The government is imposing this heavy punishment to build effective order, ” said Wang Yuedan, professor of immunology at Peking University. “From now on, no one will dare to touch this high-voltage wire.”

“国家实施这种严厉惩罚是为了建立有效秩序，”北京大学免疫学教授王月丹表示，“从现在起，没有人敢去碰这根高压线了。”
immunology n.免疫学
high-voltage adj.高电压的

According to the government, Changchun Changsheng used expired vaccine materials, changed production batch numbers and destroyed and fabricated production records. The company also destroyed a computer hard disk to cover up its illegal acts.

政府表示，长春长生使用过期疫苗原料，更改生产批号，销毁并伪造了生产记录。该公司还销毁了一个计算机硬盘来掩盖其违法行为。
expired adj.过期的，失效的
batch n.一批
fabricate v.捏造，伪造
hard disk 硬盘

Chinese officials said late Tuesday that they had levied the fine against the Changchun Changsheng, which is based in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin and whose shares trade in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

中国官员周二晚间表示，他们已经对长春长生征收了这笔罚金。长春长生位于中国东北的吉林省，其股票在中国南方城市深圳交易。
levy v.征收

The state-run news agency Xinhua called the penalty “top-level punishment” and “the most stringent” decision ever imposed on a vaccine company.

官方新闻机构新华社称此次惩罚是“顶格处罚”，也是有史以来对疫苗公司作出的“最严厉”决定。
state-run adj.国营的，国有的
stringent adj.(法律、法规等)严格，严厉

“I’ve never heard of such a big fine, ” said Shi Luwen, the head of the department of pharmaceutical administration at Peking University and an adviser to the government on health care. “It will give the people peace of mind about the ecological environment.”

我从来没听说过这么大笔的罚款，”北京大学药事管理系主任、医保方面的政府顾问史录文表示，“这将让人们对生态环境感到安心。”
pharmaceutical