China's research agency investigates four senior academics for misconduct allegations

China's national research funding agency has opened formal investigations into four senior academics who were dismissed from leading universities following allegations by a prominent blogger, marking the country's most extensive public disclosure of misconduct cases.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China published details of 31 new misconduct cases on August 26, involving more than 40 researchers at universities and hospitals across the country. The announcement represents the NSFC's largest such disclosure to date.

Senior scholars stripped of funding and titles

All four academics under investigation had received recognition from the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a prestigious honour that often leads to admission into China's top science and engineering academies. Three of them had held positions as deans or associate deans at their institutions.

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 periods ranging from three to seven years.

Cases follow blogger's April allegations

The official action follows allegations made in April by a high-profile blogger known as Student Geng, who flagged the researchers' work for misconduct. The four academics had already lost their positions at leading universities before the NSFC's formal investigation.

The scale of the August disclosure signals an intensified response to research integrity concerns in China's academic sector, with the NSFC naming researchers at 31 separate institutions. The foundation's decision to publicly identify the accused academics and detail financial penalties marks a departure in transparency for the agency, which oversees funding for basic research across the country.

Source: South China Morning Post