China launches largest-ever academic misconduct crackdown after ‘Student Geng’ scrutiny

Four Chinese academics who lost posts at leading universities after a high-profile blogger flagged their research for misconduct have come under official investigation by China’s leading funder of basic research.The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) published details on August 26 of 31 new misconduct cases at universities and hospitals across China, involving more than 40 researchers – its largest such public disclosure to date.Among them were four prominent professors publicly named in April by a blogger and PhD dropout known as Student Geng.All four had been recognised by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars – an honour that frequently serves as a stepping stone to admission into China’s top science and engineering academies. Three had served as deans or associate deans of their respective schools.Geng’s revelations on social media triggered the NSFC’s largest-ever investigation into academic misconduct.Naming the four academics in its August notice, the foundation revoked their funding and titles, ordered them to return more than 10 million yuan (US$1,487,730) in previously awarded grants, and barred them from reapplying for funding for three to seven years.