Dr Joy Zhang of Kent University, a global expert on the governance of gene editing in China, said authorities are susceptible to "regulatory negligence". Upon his release, it emerged last month that he was planning to set up a clinic in Hong Kong to research using gene editing to develop a treatment for children with a rare inherited muscular disorder, called Duchene Muscular Dystrophy. That led her to believe that "without getting clarifications on Dr He's case, the recent talk of good governance is hypocritical"