Joint statement from Biontech and its founder, Bruce Chen (Liang-Rong Chen)
The following is an English translation of the company’s 2020 statement.
Inaccurate reporting harmed business reputation and personal reputation; laboratory results clarified the facts
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On February 23, 2013, page A10 of the Liberty Times published a report alleging that counterfeit pesticides had harmed organic farmland and that a couple had been indicted. The report inaccurately alleged that our company and our founder, Mr. Liang-Rong Chen, sold a counterfeit pesticide, Shuliwang, containing toxins. These allegations damaged the reputation of both the company and its founder.
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The report was inaccurate. At the request of the Miaoli District Court, the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute examined Shuliwang for exotoxins. Its findings confirmed that no beta-exotoxin was detected, demonstrating that the report did not reflect the facts. Supporting records include the Taiwan Miaoli District Court’s letter dated June 7, 2013, and the institute’s test results dated June 21, 2013 (Attachment 1). The Liberty Times formally removed the inaccurate report on May 19, 2014, and confirmed this action in a letter dated May 29, 2014 (Attachment 2), clarifying the circumstances.
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Some versions of the report nevertheless remain online. Our company and Mr. Chen commissioned attorneys to request their removal or correction. A small number of website operators had ceased operating their websites and did not fulfill their responsibilities for maintaining the content. We regret the resulting infringement of others’ rights.
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Our company and our founder, Liang-Rong Chen, therefore issue this statement: inaccurate reporting harmed our business and personal reputations, and laboratory findings have clarified the facts. We ask anyone who encounters these reports to take this clarification into account, and ask consumers and the public to feel confident in using our products.
Pages 2–4 of the attachment reproduce official correspondence and laboratory findings. Some scanned text, seals and signatures are difficult to read; please consult the original attachment for those details.