<p>A popular Chinese medical information site has been censored by authorities for "violation of relevant laws and regulations", months after its criticism of a government-backed herbal Covid-19 treatment sent shares in a pharmaceutical giant tumbling.</p>.<p>DXY, which counts tech giant Tencent among its investors and runs a host of health-related services, previously questioned the value of Lianhua Qingwen, a herbal remedy marketed for fever and sore throats, as a Covid-19 treatment.</p>.<p>China approved the concoction -- made up of ingredients like honeysuckle and apricot seeds -- as a Covid-19 treatment in 2020, and it was distributed to Shanghai residents during the city's outbreak this year.</p>.<p>DXY's article was part of a wave of reports that caused shares in Lianhua Qingwen's producer -- one of China's largest traditional medicine companies -- to plunge.</p>.<p>The website has now been banned from posting on at least five of its Weibo social media accounts, with a notice at the top of its official page saying that due to "violation of relevant laws and regulations, this user is currently prohibited from posting".</p>.<p>DXY's official WeChat accounts, which typically publish multiple articles a day on medical topics, have not been updated since Monday.</p>.<p>The Weibo notice did not specify which regulations had been violated by DXY, which did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.</p>.<p>The Chinese government has increasingly promoted traditional medicine at home and abroad in recent years, often with nationalistic undertones.</p>.<p>DXY's coverage prompted criticism that it was targeting traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in order to promote Western pharmaceuticals.</p>.<p>The United States and other countries have warned there is no evidence Lianhua Qingwen works to prevent or cure Covid-19, even as it has increasingly been promoted by government authorities in China and Hong Kong.</p>.<p>The US Food and Drug Administration has said it has not approved Lianhua Qingwen and that coronavirus-related claims about it were "not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence".</p>.<p>Beijing issued its first white paper on TCM in 2016, laying out plans to build medicine centres and dispatch practitioners to developing countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.</p>.<p>President Xi Jinping has described TCM as a "treasure of Chinese civilisation" and has said that it should be given as much weight as other treatments.</p>.<p>Beijing's National Health Commission has also dispatched TCM practitioners as part of its medical reinforcement teams sent to fight Covid-19 outbreaks across the country.</p>
<p>A popular Chinese medical information site has been censored by authorities for "violation of relevant laws and regulations", months after its criticism of a government-backed herbal Covid-19 treatment sent shares in a pharmaceutical giant tumbling.</p>.<p>DXY, which counts tech giant Tencent among its investors and runs a host of health-related services, previously questioned the value of Lianhua Qingwen, a herbal remedy marketed for fever and sore throats, as a Covid-19 treatment.</p>.<p>China approved the concoction -- made up of ingredients like honeysuckle and apricot seeds -- as a Covid-19 treatment in 2020, and it was distributed to Shanghai residents during the city's outbreak this year.</p>.<p>DXY's article was part of a wave of reports that caused shares in Lianhua Qingwen's producer -- one of China's largest traditional medicine companies -- to plunge.</p>.<p>The website has now been banned from posting on at least five of its Weibo social media accounts, with a notice at the top of its official page saying that due to "violation of relevant laws and regulations, this user is currently prohibited from posting".</p>.<p>DXY's official WeChat accounts, which typically publish multiple articles a day on medical topics, have not been updated since Monday.</p>.<p>The Weibo notice did not specify which regulations had been violated by DXY, which did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.</p>.<p>The Chinese government has increasingly promoted traditional medicine at home and abroad in recent years, often with nationalistic undertones.</p>.<p>DXY's coverage prompted criticism that it was targeting traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in order to promote Western pharmaceuticals.</p>.<p>The United States and other countries have warned there is no evidence Lianhua Qingwen works to prevent or cure Covid-19, even as it has increasingly been promoted by government authorities in China and Hong Kong.</p>.<p>The US Food and Drug Administration has said it has not approved Lianhua Qingwen and that coronavirus-related claims about it were "not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence".</p>.<p>Beijing issued its first white paper on TCM in 2016, laying out plans to build medicine centres and dispatch practitioners to developing countries in Africa and Southeast Asia.</p>.<p>President Xi Jinping has described TCM as a "treasure of Chinese civilisation" and has said that it should be given as much weight as other treatments.</p>.<p>Beijing's National Health Commission has also dispatched TCM practitioners as part of its medical reinforcement teams sent to fight Covid-19 outbreaks across the country.</p>