The illegal manufacturing and sale of performance-enhancing substances could soon face criminal punishment in China, with the country’s Supreme Court vowing to fight hard against doping. Jiang Qibo, a judge sitting on China’s Supreme People’s Court, announced at the second edition of the WADA Global Education Conference on October 25 that the process is in its crucial final stage. China has been working to promote anti-doping legislation, after the State Council launched the Anti-Doping Regulation in 2004. Previously, the regulations had a connection with criminal law, but criminal law lacked specific terms regarding anti-doping. For this reason, the punishments for doping violations have been mostly confined to fines, bans and administrative penalties, while public calls for criminal punishment have been widespread. With the announcement, China’s highest judicial authority has thrown its support behind the country’s wider anti-doping effort.

Source: Chinadaily