国内英语新闻:China's fight against academic fraud - still a long way to go

In Li Liansheng's case, his employer, Xi'an Jiaotong University suspended him from working at the university and rescinded his employment contract in March 2010.

However, whistleblowers said Li still held many awards and titles which need to be removed.

Chen Yongjiang, one of the six whistleblowers, said Li was now working for Hefei General Machinery Research Institute, as an associate chief engineer and vice director of a key national laboratory.

Feng Quanke, another whistleblower, said he was shocked finding that Li currently held a post as vice chairman of the academic committee of Chinese Association of Refrigeration.

Chen Yongjiang said, "Our society does not walk the talk of zero tolerance, rather, those plagiarists do just fine."

Recent tip-offs by the public of academic fraud did get some college teachers sacked.

In 2009, He Haibo, an associate professor of pharmacology at the famed Zhejiang University was found to have plagiarized in eight of his theses. He was dismissed by the university later.

Also, two Lecturers in Jinggangshan University were dismissed for fabricating data in some 70 academic papers.

However, in some cases, the punishment was not harsh enough, said Fang Zhouzi, citing the example of Chen Jin, a former Shanghai Jiaotong University professor.

In 2006, Chen was sacked for fabricating data with regard to a digital computer chip that was developed with state-funding. Fang said Chen's misconduct equaled swindling state funds.

Fang called for the government to set up a systematic channel for handling academic misconduct, so that "zero tolerance" was no longer a slogan.

Academic Evaluation System

In the CAST survey, 30.3 percent of respondents attributed cheating to the current evaluation system that appraises researchers' academic performances largely on the number of theses they write and publish.

Fang Zhouzi said the current academic appraisal system was weak, overly emphasizing quantity of academic papers and awards.

Shi Ying echoed his view, saying the current appraisal indicators include the quantity of paper published on academic journals, academic awards, and the number of research projects one's engaged in.

"These are pegged to one's academic ranking and research funds one can get. Driven by the prospect of getting much money, one would rather take risks," said Shi.

Shi suggested the establishment of an evaluation system which places emphasis on quality of research, including it's novelty and applicability.

Nevertheless, the six whisleblowers took great comfort from the science ministry's decision. Chen Yongjiang said, "The news is inspiring, and it serves as a lesson to all plagiarists."