Friday, April 25, 2008

Fang Zhouzi Will Defend Against CEB Rice Case

As reported earlier, CEB Rice has sued Fang Zhouzi for defamation. The lawsuit was filed at Beijing's Western District Court (北京西城区法院). CEB Rice is asking for 20,000 RMB ($3,000) in damage and a public apology.

According to China News, CEB Rice accused that Fang Zhouzi has been openly questioning the company's core technology and caused grave damage to the company's operation. The company's Chief Scientist Nie Xiaomei (聂晓梅) provided a copy of certification from the Wuhan Branch of the Chinese Science Academy in 1991, which certified that her research was an innovation that was "a first both at home and abroad", which had opened up new research areas.

Fang Zhouzi announced on New Thread that he had authorized his lawyer to accept and defend this case, because the publicity of such a case will help raise awareness of consumers on the truth behind the "super-expensive rice". In a brief note, Fang clarified that his criticism of the rice was entirely on the product, not the technology. The technology itself had existed abroad long before its "discovery" by the CEB Rice scientists anyway.

Fang also pointed out that the "certification" is meaningless if it is not backed by publications in international journals.

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