Professors angry over cover-up of academic misconduct

The sacking of an engineering professor by a prestigious university in Xian, Shaanxi , last month has failed to dull two years of fury for retired academic Chen Yongjiang . Chen, a retired professor from Xian Jiaotong University (XJU), still seethes when recounting a meeting with university management over accusations that Li Liansheng , a professor from the university's school of energy and power engineering, falsified research. Li was nominated for a prestigious Ministry of Education science award in 2007 for his research into compressor technologies but Chen and other five retired professors doubted its originality because it was not Li's usual field of study. After they pored over Li's research they found it was just a repackaging of existing technologies, some of which dated back to the 1960s. Two weeks after the retired professors alerted the university in March 2008, officials called them to a meeting. 'As soon as the meeting started, they told us not to make a fuss about the matter because academic falsification had become part of the culture at Chinese universities,' Chen, 82, said. The university officials tried to put pressure on them and even complained that bringing up the matter had disturbed their peace of mind. 'They told us 'if you did this in order to gain some benefits, we could talk Li Liansheng into sharing the award with you guys',' Chen said. 'Our heads almost exploded upon hearing that - it was far too great an insult.' He said the retired professors had just been trying to tell younger teachers what they should and should not do because they were supposed to be role models for the community. The case has highlighted a culture of misconduct in mainland universities and research institutes, ranging from plagiarism to the falsification of academic papers, and an equally worrying tendency for institutions to cover up offences. In a conversation they recorded at that meeting that was broadcast on China Central Television last month, the vice-chairman of XJU's academic committee admitted that academic falsification was getting worse but worried that bringing it to light would affect the reputation of the country and the university. The university withdrew Li's award nomination but that was its only reaction for a year, until the retired professors turned to blogs in March 2009 to pursue the case. The university then arranged another meeting with the retired professors, pleading with them to stop the campaign. XJU vice-president Lu Tianjian was recorded at that meeting, telling the retired professors to stop the online campaign because media coverage had caused damage 'beyond calculation' to the school. 'We just hope you stop the public campaign and in so doing, it will do everyone good,' Lu told them. Chen said: 'What were they telling us? They said that it was not easy for XJU, an inland college, to secure 16th place in the scientific research capability rankings last year and they hoped we would show a bit mercy and not screw it up.' A day after CCTV ran its expose, on March 20 this year, the university stripped Li of his professorship and terminated his contract. In a notice posted on the university website on March 21, it said it would not tolerate academic falsification or plagiarism. Xiong Bingqi , the deputy director of the 21st Century Education Development Research Institute - a non-government organisation - said that those with little knowledge of the way the saga unfolded might see the decision as proof of the university's resolve to fight academic misconduct. 'But the university notice provides the best footnote on how much credibility it has lost as an academic institution, given the media coverage of the case,' Xiong said. Outspoken Shanghai Fudan University professor Ge Jianxiong said he was extremely unhappy about the Ministry of Education's inability to tackle academic irregularities after promising to introduce a zero-tolerance policy a year ago. 'Nothing has happened throughout the year and there are only two explanations - either there have been no such violations or the ministry has done nothing,' he said. Xiong said a lot of universities actually took a zero-tolerance approach to whistleblowers. He said media coverage of the XJU case showed that officials could not skirt their responsibility for helping to cover up the scandal - which was an even bigger scandal. 'To hold those who have helped cover up academic irregularities responsible for their actions is true zero-tolerance,' he said.