On the evening of July 19, the website of the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the "Notice on the Handling of Plagiarism in the Application Form of Relevant Projects of the National Key R&D Program":
Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has verified the plagiarism of the relevant project declarations of the National Key R&D Program, and dealt with it in accordance with regulations.
1. Zhao Ran's plagiarism in the project declaration
In June 2023, Zhao Ran of China Agricultural University applied for the 2023 National Key R&D Program as the project leader. After investigation, the application copied the content of other approved projects in terms of main indicators, research content, research methods and main innovations. The Ministry of Science and Technology has terminated the evaluation process of the project in accordance with regulations, and the project has not been funded.
Zhao Ran's behavior violated the requirements for the application of national science and technology projects and the relevant regulations on scientific research integrity. On the basis of the "Interim Provisions on the Handling of Violations in Scientific and Technological Activities" and the "Rules for the Investigation and Handling of Untrustworthy Conduct in Scientific Research", Zhao Ran is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds for 3 years, and recording them in the database of serious untrustworthy conduct in scientific research creditworthiness.
Second, Zhang Tao plagiarized in the project declaration
In August 2023, Zhang Tao of Pinyuan (Suizhou) Modern Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. applied for the 2023 National Key R&D Program as the project leader. After investigation, the application copied the content of other approved projects in terms of main indicators, research content, research methods and main innovations. The Ministry of Science and Technology has terminated the evaluation process of the project in accordance with regulations, and the project has not been funded.
Zhang Tao's behavior violated the requirements for the application of national science and technology projects and the relevant regulations on scientific research integrity. On the basis of the "Interim Provisions on the Handling of Violations in Scientific and Technological Activities" and the "Rules for the Investigation and Handling of Untrustworthy Conduct in Scientific Research", Zhang Tao is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds for 3 years, and is to be recorded in the database of serious untrustworthy conduct in scientific research creditworthiness.
3. Zhang Xiaochen's plagiarism in the project declaration
In June 2023, Zhang Xiaochen of Yongjiang Laboratory applied for the 2023 National Key R&D Program as the project leader. After investigation, the application copied the content of other approved projects in terms of main indicators, research content, research methods and main innovations. The Ministry of Science and Technology has terminated the evaluation process of the project in accordance with regulations, and the project has not been funded.
Zhang Xiaochen's behavior violated the requirements for the application of national science and technology projects and the relevant regulations on scientific research integrity. On the basis of the "Interim Provisions on the Handling of Violations in Scientific and Technological Activities" and the "Rules for the Investigation and Handling of Untrustworthy Conduct in Scientific Research", Zhang Xiaochen is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds for 3 years, and is to be recorded in the database of serious untrustworthy conduct in scientific research creditworthiness.
Fourth, Chen Haotai plagiarized in the project declaration
In June 2023, Chen Haotai from the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences applied for the 2023 National Key R&D Program as the project leader. After investigation, the application copied the content of other approved projects in terms of main indicators, research content, research methods and main innovations. The Ministry of Science and Technology has terminated the evaluation process of the project in accordance with regulations, and the project has not been funded.
Chen Haotai's behavior violated the requirements for the application of national science and technology projects and the relevant regulations on scientific research integrity. On the basis of the "Interim Provisions on the Handling of Violations in Scientific and Technological Activities" and the "Rules for the Investigation and Handling of Untrustworthy Conduct in Scientific Research", Chen Haotai is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by fiscal funds for 3 years, and recording them in the database of serious untrustworthy conduct in scientific research creditworthiness.
The above problems also expose that the relevant units do not fulfill the main responsibility of legal persons, the daily integrity education and management of scientific research personnel are not in place, and the review and control of project applications are not strict. The Ministry of Science and Technology has interviewed the principal responsible persons of the above-mentioned units and ordered them to strictly implement all requirements for the establishment of creditworthiness in scientific research, and to complete the rectification work within a time limit.
Scientific research integrity is the cornerstone of scientific and technological innovation. The Ministry of Science and Technology will, in conjunction with relevant departments and localities, persistently do a good job in the establishment of scientific research style, study style, and scientific research creditworthiness, strengthen active monitoring, supervision and inspection of plagiarism, plagiarism, falsification, and other problems of scientific research untrustworthiness, and increase the force of punishment.
Colleges and universities, scientific research institutions, and enterprises engaged in scientific research should earnestly shoulder the main responsibility of legal persons, strengthen the education, guidance, supervision and management of scientific research personnel in their units, and take the initiative to discover and seriously deal with conduct that violates the requirements of creditworthiness in scientific research. The majority of scientific research personnel should consciously practice the spirit of scientists in the new era, cherish academic reputation, abide by scientific research norms, adhere to the bottom line of integrity, strengthen responsibility, and contribute to accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance.
On the same day, the website of the Ministry of Science and Technology also issued the "Notice on the Handling of the Issues Concerning the Evaluation and Entrustment of Projects Related to the National Key R&D Program":
Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has verified the issue of project review and entrustment of the National Key R&D Program, and has dealt with it in accordance with regulations, and hereby reports the relevant situation as follows.
In July 2021, while working in the Drum Tower Hospital affiliated to Nanjing University School of Medicine, Sun Beicheng applied for the 2021 National Key R&D Program as the project leader. After investigation, Sun Beicheng collected and analyzed the information of potential review experts by calling and sending messages, and carried out requests and "greetings", seeking to take care of his declared projects. Among them, Shao Zongze of the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Liu Zhongmin of the Institute of Biology of Henan Academy of Sciences Co., Ltd., Yang Ronghua of Hunan Normal University, and Liu Aizhong of Southwest Forestry University as the evaluation experts of the project, did not report to the review organizer according to the regulations after receiving the request, nor did they take the initiative to apply for recusal. Zhao Yuanjin of Southeast University provided assistance to Sun Beicheng in implementing the request, and in the process of the Ministry of Science and Technology's verification of relevant violations, he contacted Sun Beicheng in violation of regulations and disclosed the relevant investigations, hindering the investigation and verification work. The Ministry of Science and Technology has terminated the evaluation process of the project in accordance with regulations, and the project has not been funded.
In accordance with the "Interim Provisions on the Handling of Violations in Scientific and Technological Activities" and the "Provisions on the Handling of Solicitation in the Review of Scientific and Technological Activities (Trial)", etc., Sun Beicheng is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds within 7 years, Zhao Yuanjin is prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds within 5 years, and Shao Zongze, Liu Zhongmin, Yang Ronghua, and Liu Aizhong are prohibited from undertaking or participating in scientific and technological activities supported by financial funds within 3 years, and the above-mentioned persons are all recorded in the database of serious untrustworthy conduct in scientific research integrity.
The "greetings" and "requests" in the review have seriously interfered with the order of the review, caused trouble to the scientific researchers who have devoted themselves to research, and had a bad impact on the overall image of the scientific and technological community and the development of the country's scientific and technological innovation, and must be resolutely stopped and severely punished. The Ministry of Science and Technology resolutely treats the issue of review and entrustment with a "zero tolerance" attitude, and resolutely revokes all kinds of scientific research projects obtained due to solicitation once verified. It should be noted that, in accordance with the relevant regulations, "if the review experts and review staff receive the request, they shall take the initiative to report to the review organizer, undertaker or relevant supervision department in a timely manner, and provide relevant clues and evidence." If they fail to take the initiative to report in a timely manner, once discovered, they will be dealt with according to the relevant request."
The majority of scientific researchers are requested to consciously practice the spirit of scientists in the new era, abide by the standards, strengthen their responsibility, and jointly maintain a fair and just review environment and a clean and upright innovation ecology.