Chinese sociology professor under fire for plagiarising academic papers
- Nanjing University sociologist Liang Ying has had more than 130 papers published, but at least 15 of them were fraudulent, reports say
- Academic also criticised for her lackadaisical attitude to teaching, including letting her father take her class
A sociology professor known for publishing scores of academic papers in both English and Chinese has been removed from her teaching post by Nanjing University for professional misconduct, according to a statement issued by her employer.
Liang Ying, who is on the faculty of the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, became the subject of several media reports in October accusing her of plagiarising other people’s work or submitting duplicate manuscripts of at least 15 of her papers. The university said at the time it would investigate the allegations.
In its latest statement, the school said that Liang had “academic ethics and other moral problems” and described her violations as “serious”.
It also said it had “instructed relevant departments … to undertake deep self-reflection and serious self-criticism, and take practical measures to prevent such incidents from happening again”.
Liang, 39, joined Nanjing University in 2009 – where she had earlier completed her doctorate – after gaining a master’s degree from Suzhou University, and doing her postdoctoral research at Peking University and the University of Chicago.