Recently a UK-based academic publication announced that at least 70 papers it had published on newly discovered crystal structures were falsified. The magazine, Acta Crystallographica, named two scientists from Jinggangshan University in Jiangxi province as the culprits behind what it termed "scientific fraud".
The two have since withdrawn their papers. This case has re-ignited the debate on academic corruption in China and its roots. Survey website ifeng.com recently carried out an online poll on the topic.
It asked respondents: Do you feel the rapid growth in the number of Chinese Universities had led to falling standards is the primary cause of academic corruption?
This is the local government office in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region where a local man burned himself to death last week. According to his family, Ruan Guangrui, a farmer from the rural area of Dongsun near Baise City, committed suicide outside the gates of the district government to protest at grass-roots corruption.
His widow, Deng, said the 49-year-old was angry that officials refused to listen to their complaints about graft.
"It's all because of his report on the corruption case. He said he wanted to use his death to draw the attention of the authorities. He wasn't able to sleep for a month, turning the case over and over in his mind. The report was submitted to the local police department, but it was dismissed."
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Recently on our Media Watch show here on BON we heard about the case of ex-Microsoft China chief, Tang Jun, and the degree – that wasn't - or at least was from somewhere else.
The story drags on with claim and counterclaim but briefly: Self-styled “Academic Vigilante”, Fang Zhouzi, who specializes in outing academic frauds, accused the former Microsoft president of fabricating his academic credentials from CalTech – and the ownership of two US patents.
When US has not yet recovered from Michael Jackson's leaving, China has been slipped into the grief by Professor Ji Xianlin's passing away, who is a prominent academic in China.
Ji Xianlin died Saturday at a hospital in Beijing, a month short of his 98th birthday. Peking University created a memorial area open to the public and thousands of people came everyday to pay their respects. Most had never seen him, but said they had felt his influence.
No matter what the topic, it seems that accusations of corruption are never far from the news here in China. In the past few weeks alone, corruption has reared its ugly head in everything from soccer match-fixing and the courts to accident cover-ups and the way funds were apportioned for rebuilding parts of Sichuan following the 2008 earthquake.
It's like an incurable disease. Corruption in China is a major source of frustration among Chinese people. President Hu has called corruption the single most important threat to the power of the Communist Party. Yet the problem seems to be growing.
With corruption cropping up in many areas of society as we've just heard, we asked ordinary Chinese citizens for their views on the topic. Here's what they had to say in today's edition of Straight from the Street.