The news of Chinese officials with false qualifications keeps coming to light. When foreign media revealed that even the former vice president of China committed academic fraud, there were comments being made, jokingly mocking that if punishments are being enforced, the Politburo won’t be able to make the minimum headcount for meetings.
According to news published by Voice of America on March 12, Chinese officials comprise the largest group with the highest academic qualifications worldwide. Many of them juggle both work and studies simultaneously, which results in China’s unique phenomenon of a large number of on-job doctoral and master students across official circles. Knowledge of false qualifications is not new news, but the continual unveiling of such frauds is arousing public concern.
A report by L’Agence France-Presse in early March found that the dissertations of a number of senior Chinese officials contained plagiarism. The list included: former Vice President of China, Li Yuanchao; Politburo member and Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Chen Quanguo; former Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, Zhang Shuyuan; as well as the Secretary of the Party Committee responsible for the National Intellectual Property Administration, Xiao Xingwei.
When checking the 2004 dissertation paper from former Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, Zhang Shuyuan, it was found that the paper contained a significant amount of plagiarism using Tan Wei’s 2003 published paper.
The report pointed out that qualifications were closely connected to promotions. Hence, why officials strive for diplomas and degrees through any means possible. Significantly, college management is clearly aware of plagiarism because they are government officials themselves.
Translated by Cici
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