方舟子的Blog

中国正在形成防止科学造假的规则

英国《经济学家》2006年5月18日

　　在搭乘通往科技强盛的快速列车时，值得查查驾驶员是否够格，引擎是否在

正常运转，轨道有无障碍。不幸的是，中国对科学成功的渴望是如此强烈，以致

会有些人铤而走险抄近路。一些独立的研究人员对此已有足够的警觉，开始对可

能的欺诈行为进行非官方的调查。要求官方进行改革的压力与日俱增。

　　科学对中国来说非常重要。这个国家最近公布了其规划，到2020年时用于研

究和开发方面的经费将增加到9千亿元。到那时，它要求经济增长的60％来自科

学技术。

　　对该国形象最近的一次打击发生在5月5日，在那一天交通大学公布了其微电

子顶尖研究者陈进的欺诈行为。陈博士曾宣布已开发出该国首个国产芯片，能够

一秒运行2亿次指令。它看来将会为中国省下数十亿美元的进口费用并促进该国

自己的高科技产业的发展。但是学校的调查发现陈博士只是把摩托罗拉生产的芯

片上的标记去掉，换上他的公司的标记。难怪在宣布开发成功之后并没有像预期

的那样开始商业销售。

　　这么干的并非陈博士一个人；其他人也被指控犯有科学造假。在4月14日，

四川大学宣布它会调查其副校长在两篇免疫学论文中伪造数据的说法。然而，第

二天该校就澄清了有关另一资深研究人员的指控，他也被指控伪造数据。

　　这些研究人员只是一份越来越多的科研人员名单中规格最高的新成员，他们

遭到了中国非官方科学警察的质疑。在这些监督者中最富有成果的是方舟子，这

位前生物化学学者主持新语丝网站，已公布了数百起学术造假的指控。虽然许多

指控并未得到证实，但是方博士争辩说，在有一个官方体制用以报告、调查和惩

处学术不端行为之前，这个网站的存在是很有必要的。

　　上周有120名华人科学家，他们大部分来自美国大学，在一封送交包括中国

科技部部长和中国科学院院长在内的政府官员的公开信中呼吁建立这样一个体制。

他们担心如果没有一个实行无罪推定的公正程序，中国科学家和中国科学的名声

有遭到损害的危险。

　　陈博士的堕落与韩国的黄禹锡相似，这位克隆研究人员在被发现其研究有假

后，从民族英雄变成了贱民。和韩国一样，中国也给予了其科学明星很高的荣誉，

不仅是为了他们所声称的实验成果，也是为了他们给民族自豪感带来的光彩。两

个国家都需要学到，要防止快速列车出轨，科研规范和科研技巧一样是必不可少

的。

（方舟子译）

Chinese science
Faking it

May 18th 2006

From The Economist print edition
China is developing new rules to prevent scientific fraud

WHEN taking the fast train to technical prowess, it pays to check
that
the drivers are competent, the engine is running smoothly and
the
tracks are clear. Unfortunately, China’s hunger for success in
the
sciences is such that some have been tempted to cut corners.
Some
independent researchers are sufficiently alarmed to have started
the
unofficial monitoring of possible frauds. The need for official
reform
is pressing.

Science is important to China. The country recently unveiled plans
to
increase its spending on research and development to 900 billion
yuan
($112 billion) by 2020. By that time, it wants 60% of economic
growth
to come from science and technology.

The latest blow to the country’s image came on May 5th, when
Jiaotong
University uncovered a fraud committed by one of its top
microelectronics researchers, Chen Jin. Dr Chen claimed to
have
developed the country’s first home-grown microchip, capable
of
processing 200m instructions a second. It looked set to save
China
billions of dollars in imports and advance the country’s own
high-tech
industries. But an investigation by the university found that Dr
Chen
had simply removed the marking from chips made by Motorola
and
replaced them with the logo of his company. No wonder the
announcements were never followed by the sales they seemed to
deserve.

Dr Chen is not alone; others have been accused of committing
scientific fraud. On April 14th Sichuan University announced that
it
would investigate claims that its vice-president, Yuquan Wei,
fabricated data in two publications on immunology. However,
the
following day the university cleared another senior researcher of
any
wrongdoing following claims that he, too, had faked data.

The researchers are the highest-profile additions to a growing list
of
scientists whose work has been questioned by China’s
unofficial
science police. The most prolific of these watchdogs is Fang
Zhouzi, a
former biochemist who runs the New Threads website that has
published
hundreds of allegations of academic fraud. Although many of the
claims
are unsubstantiated, Dr Fang argues that the website will
remain
necessary until there is an official system for reporting,
investigating and punishing academic misconduct.

Last week 120 Chinese scientists, mostly from American
universities,
called for just such a system in an open letter sent to
officials,
including China’s science minister and the president of the
Chinese
Academy of Sciences. They fear that without a fair process that
treats
people as innocent until they are proven guilty, the reputation
of
Chinese scientists and Chinese science risks being damaged.

Dr Chen’s fall from grace resembles that of South Korea’s Hwang
Woo-suk,
the cloning researcher who turned from national hero to a pariah
when
his research was shown to be fraudulent. Like South Korea, China
has
feted its scientific stars, not just for their supposed
laboratory
achievements but also for the lustre they gave national pride.
Both
countries need to learn that, to prevent the fast train
derailing,
research standards are as essential as research know-how.

(XYS20060519)

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