 The National Natural Science Foundation Regulatory Committee has issued a public reprimand, naming two university professors for academic plagiarism. It also anonymously publicized a further 13 cases of research fraud.
An undercurrent of academic corruption has begun to surface. The committee's announcement has sparked widespread public debate over this problem again. Let's follow XXX to learn more about it.
A cartoon featuring academic corruption. [Photo: lrn.cn]
An opinion from the Qilu Evening News says that the committee should also reveal the other 13 suspects, and not cover them up. The tolerance to plagiarism is unfair to truthful researchers, and it discourages others from creating new knowledge.
The scientific and technological development of China will be stalled if scholars lack originality, and cannot create and put forward new concepts, methods and theories.
An article published on Xinhua.com says blaming individual moral defects is an oversimplified answer to plagiarism. This incident indicates bigger problems. While people debate over scholars moral defects, they overlook institutional problems.
The general academic atmosphere at the moment is shrouded by an over-eagerness to achieve quick successes and instant benefits. The author suggests all social mechanisms related to academia should be reformed to curb future cases of corruption.
Modern Express published an article highlighting that plagiarism is cited as one of the chronic illnesses of Chinese academia. Now that this case has been widely publicized, nobody can further get away with such a deceitful act. The two professors involved in the incident should take the blame, apologise and quit.
The author think intellectuals are the mainstay and conscience of society. Undoubtedly, some social factors tempt young scholars to pursue quick material gains. However, it's a serious error of judgement if an intellectual doesn't respect the work of others. If these two professors resign, at least it shows that they have a conscience when faced with such an academic scandal.
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