NYTimes: [Scientific] Fraud Scandals Sap China’s Dream....

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the New York Times article regarding scientific fraud in China, particularly focusing on the implications of quantity over quality in academic publishing. Participants explore the historical and political context of China's scientific ambitions and the influence of its economic model on research integrity.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that the emphasis in Chinese academia is on the quantity of published papers rather than their quality, drawing parallels to the USSR's production goals in the 1950s.
  • There is a viewpoint that China is not genuinely a communist country, suggesting it operates under a mixed economic model while claiming to be communist.
  • One participant argues that the success of China's economy is significantly tied to the influence of Hong Kong, indicating a shift in economic practices post-1997.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that the Chinese government views Hong Kong merely as a successful model, suggesting that the current residents of Hong Kong experience significant interference from the mainland government.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the portrayal of China's political system and its historical context, particularly in comparison to the USSR.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding China's political and economic identity, the implications of its academic practices, and the role of Hong Kong in its development. The discussion remains unresolved with no consensus on these points.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference historical contexts and personal observations, which may reflect individual biases or limited perspectives on the broader socio-political landscape in China.

diogenesNY
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Of interest:

New York Times - October 13, 2017

Fraud Scandals Sap China’s Dream of Becoming a Science Superpower
By AMY QIN

BEIJING — Having conquered world markets and challenged American political and military leadership, China has set its sights on becoming a global powerhouse in a different field: scientific research.
...
Since 2012, the country has retracted more scientific papers because of faked peer reviews than all other countries and territories put together, according to Retraction Watch, a blog that tracks and seeks to publicize retractions of research papers.

...article continues:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/...candals.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

diogenesNY
 
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I see no surprise in that. I have a close friend who does a fair amount of business with academics in China (his wife is Chinese and translates for him) and he tells me that the goal is quantity of papers, not quality.

In the 1950's the USSR's planned economy set production goals for EVERYTHING and just as one result of that, shoe plants churned out cardboard shoes because there was no test for quality, just quantity. Plant managers, and workers, were rewarded for exceeding their quotas and people's shoes fell apart quickly.

Communism doesn't work all that well in practice, although to be fair, China today is doing WAY better than the USSR was doing back then.
 
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phinds said:
I see no surprise in that. I have a close friend who does a fair amount of business with academics in China (his wife is Chinese and translates for him) and he tells me that the goal is quantity of papers, not quality.

In the 1950's the USSR's planned economy set production goals for EVERYTHING and just as one result of that, shoe plants churned out cardboard shoes because there was no test for quality, just quantity. Plant managers, and workers, were rewarded for exceeding their quotas and people's shoes fell apart quickly.

Communism doesn't work all that well in practice, although to be fair, China today is doing WAY better than the USSR was doing back then.
I personally don't really think China is a communist country at all. They are just claiming that they are.
 
HAYAO said:
I personally don't really think China is a communist country at all. They are just claiming that they are.
They certainly are a mixed something. I agree that they are not much like the USSR of the 50's->80's
 
HAYAO said:
don't really think China is a communist country at all
Personality cults are personality cults; particularly when the personalities are dead/stuffed, Stalin/Lenin/Mao.
 
The main reason China is anything at all is Hong Kong. Look at the history of the Chinese economy and exports. There is Pre-HK and Post HK.

When the Chinese took over HK from the British at the end of the 99 year lease, they saw how well it worked and said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

And that is how China got to be China of today.
 
matt621 said:
When the Chinese took over HK from the British at the end of the 99 year lease, they saw how well it worked and said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I think the current residents of Hong Kong would be ASTOUNDED to hear this. The mainland Chinese meddle quite heavily in the affairs of HK. I think you don't keep up with the news.
 
My point is from the perspective of the Chinese Govt, not the HK residents. They found the golden goose and all they did was changed who owned the goose not how the goose did it's work.