BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- An award-winning Chinese expert on blood
diseases, Huang Xiaojun, is under investigation by his hospital after being
accused of plagiarism by his former professor.
Huang, head of the Institute of Hematology at the People's Hospital of
Peking University, was quoted in the Beijing News as saying Friday he wouldn't
comment on the claim until the investigation was over.
Lu Daopei, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told
Xinhua Friday that some of the research material Huang submitted in support of
his nomination for the Chinese Medical Association (CMA) award last year, had
actually been the work of Lu.
Lu is also an executive of the CMA, which on Jan. 9 named Huang as one of
seven medical science team leaders of the year for 2008.The awards were each
worth 70,000 yuan (about 10,300 U.S. dollars).
Lu has claimed that he found Huang's name on a recommendation letter in
December, in which the contribution Huang claimed as his was research Lu had
done over a 20-year period. The recommendation was from the People's Hospital,
Huang's employer.
Lu, who teaches at Peking University and Fudan University in Shanghai,
displayed a certificate at a press conference in Beijing Thursday showing that
in 2006, he was recognized as the leader of a group that developed a new medical
treatment protocol for preventing rejection of stem cell transplants in diseases
such as leukemia.
Lu said he also found 20 errors in 31 papers written by Huang.
Despite Lu's objections, he said, Huang was still given the award.
The CMA subsequently asked the Peking University Health Science Center and
the People's Hospital of the Peking University to investigate.
"The hospital, which recommended Huang [for the award], should be
responsible for the authenticity of the supporting material," said Wu Mingjiang,
vice president of the CMA.
A director of the Peking University Health Science Center, who asked to be
identified only by his surname, Xiao, said the center would conduct a careful
investigation. Xinhua has not yet been able to contact the People's Hospital for
comment.
The scandal renewed concern over academic fraud, which became a topical
issue after the elite Zhejiang University on March 15 fired an associate
professor who allegedly copied a former doctoral supervisor's research in eight
of his papers and submitted one paper to journals for publication.
According to Lu, the reason why academic fraud was so prevalent was that
scholars and researchers were chasing publicity and profits.
With his CMA award, "Huang could apply for more awards and research
funding," he said.
Anti-fraud activist Fang Zhouzi, who runs a website on the issue from his
Beijing home, said Huang's case showed that there were loopholes in the academic
evaluation system in China.
"Someone reported the fraud, but the accused was still given an award
before a thorough investigation. This is incorrect," he said.
In China, evaluation of academic contributions was superficial, Fang said.
"People just look at the quantity of papers rather than the quality," he
added, which left the door open for plagiarism.
Leniency toward offenders was another reason, said Zheng Yefu, a
sociologist at the Peking University.
"Employers of the accused are responsible for such investigations, but they
tend to be tolerant," he said.
Fang agreed. "When some 'famous' experts are suspected of fraud, their
schools and institutes often turn a blind eye," he said. Fang said that
independent parties should conduct investigations.
The Ministry of Education issued a circular on March 19, saying that
universities had primary responsibility for academic plagiarism. It said that
the punishment for plagiarists could involve warnings, dismissal or even legal
charges.
Plagiarists' research programs could also be suspended or terminated, they
could lose their funding, or see awards and honors revoked.
Plagiarists would also be ineligible for financial support and academic
awards for "a certain period," said the notice.
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