Rare public row erupts over funding for US$16 billion China Brain Project
- Committee member Rao Yi says money is going to too few institutes and unqualified people are leading teams
- Chief scientist says it’s inevitable that resources will be concentrated in some research areas of the greatest interest for society
A senior scientist involved in the drafting of one of the most costly science projects in China said the project should be postponed immediately because it had funded studies with little scientific value.
Rao Yi, a member in the expert committee of the 100 billion-yuan (US$15.8 billion) China Brain Project, said on his social media account on Sunday that the committee had too much power, making their decisions on funding “impossible to be fair”.
Rao, president of the Capital Medical University and one of the few vocal critics in China to some of the government’s science policies, said the committee had about 20 experts, and “everyone could help their own institute, their own people to get a large amount of funding”.
“[The committee members] tend to avoid opposing proposals by others, so that their own proposals are easily approved. [The funding of] these proposals ranged from tens to hundreds of millions of yuan,” he said.
“The expert committee seemed to believe that the discussion of science is too troublesome, and any debate is a waste of time. [The members] should cut the talk and split the money as soon as possible.
“I have seen it with my own eyes.”