China toughens fight against fraud in science

Beijing. June 4. Silkroadnews - China will establish a lifelong accountability system to investigate and punish scholars who have committed serious academic fraud, China Daily reported.
The new rules adopted by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China will allow more rapid and thorough investigations into academic fraud, falsification and plagiarism, even if the offender has moved to another post or retired.
Depending on the severity of the offense, the punishment may range from cancellation of the project’s funding to revoking the offender’s titles and permanently banning them from promotion or holding positions in research institutions. Institutes that connive or shield violators will also be punished with budget cuts or judicial action, the report said.
In addition, it is planned to set an interdepartmental platform to ensure the integrity of research, conduct a thorough ethical assessment of key scientific projects, documents and personnel and consider the issue of making serious academic fraud a criminal offense.
The new rules are China's toughest and most comprehensive guidelines on academic fraud since 2007, when the Ministry of Science and Technology founded the Administration Office for Research Integrity.
In recent years, China has made great strides in improving the integrity of research, yet loopholes for dishonest scientists still exist.