China Blocks Gene Editing Newlyweds From Reuniting

Exclusive interview with Cathy Tie as she awaits her fate in Manila

On Saturday, the bio-tech prodigy-turned-entrepreneur Cathy Tie put an ominous message on X: “Stranded in Manila with my dog. Went a little too far with this geopolitics thing 🥺 long live germline editing.”

Tie, it now turns out, had been traveling from Los Angeles to Beijing to reunite with her new husband Dr. Jiankui He when she was detained during a layover in Manila at the behest of Chinese officials. Over the course of several hours, immigration officers in Manila informed Tie that she could return to the US or go somewhere else because she would not be allowed to continue on to China. The PRC has yet to tell Tie exactly why she can’t enter China, but it’s not too hard to guess what’s going on at the edges.

Some context.

In April, Tie, 29, married Dr. Jiankui He, 41, in Beijing.

Dr. He drew worldwide attention in 2018 for using CRISPR to alter the genes of live human embryos. His work marked the creation of the first gene-edited babies, and the global scientific community chastised Dr. He for racing ahead with such technology while ethical and safety debates around gene editing were still raging. Dr. He paid a severe price for his actions. The Chinese government sentenced him to three years in prison, saying he had performed illegal medical practices.

Post jail, Dr. He was allowed to open a new lab, although with the government watching his actions closely and restricting his travel. Over the past few months, Dr. He began drawing attention again because of his prolific posting on X. He has a playful, kinda weird style on X in which he makes bold proclamations about bio-tech and innovation more broadly.

The attention around his X account only increased when Dr. He announced his surprise marriage to Tie in April and declared that his bio-tech company would be known as Cathy Medicine moving forward. For her part, Tie announced that she would be leaving the US to live in China, and it appeared that the couple would be doing pioneering bio-tech work together.

Tie is very much a thing in her own right. She was born in China and grew up in Canada and has been advancing the bio-tech field since she was a teenager – first as a researcher and then as a founder and investor. She’s a Thiel Fellow and a free thinker and has voiced her frustrations at the slow pace of innovation in bio-tech. In February, Tie and Josie Zayner revealed a new start-up called The Los Angeles Project meant to create genetically enhanced animals.

The whole situation with Tie and Dr. He has, thus far, gone unnoticed by the mainstream press, but we are on the case here. We caught up with Tie on Tuesday via phone, as she remains in Manila. (Dr. He is not speaking to the press.) This is the first extensive interview Tie has given on her situation. She was tired from jet lag and sounded frustrated at her situation and worried about her husband but was as composed and eloquent as ever.

VANCE: Hi. How are you? Are you functional?

TIE: I’m functional. I can’t fall asleep for some reason. So, here I am, wide awake.

VANCE: As I understand it, you were trying to fly from Los Angeles to Beijing to be back with Dr. He, but I only really know what I’ve seen on X. Can you tell me what’s going on?

TIE: Yeah, I'll give you the rundown. My plan was to move to Beijing to be with Dr. He. I actually got rid of my place in LA and my car and packed up all my big suitcases and brought my dog with me on a flight from LA to Manila where I had a layover before heading to Beijing. Once we got to Manila, I was deboarding the plane when I saw these two agents holding up a sign with my name on it. They brought me over to the transfer desk, and I thought they were going to help me because my layover was really short. It seemed so kind.