Ministry of Science and Technology Revokes an Award

Almost a year after Xi'an Jiaotong University fired its professor Li Liansheng for fraud after a lengthy and difficult campaign by six elder professors, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China finally reached a decision to revoke an award it had given to Li Liansheng in 2005.

The ministry cited severe plagiarism and inaccurate economic impact data in the application for the reason for its action.

Xi'an Jiaotong University Fires Professor for Fraud

According to China Youth Daily, Xi'an Jiaotong University has made the decision to fire Professor Li Liansheng (李连生) for committing forgery.

Two years ago, on March 28, 2008, six elder professors from that school published an open letter on New Threads. The letter states that Li Liansheng's work, which was then just awarded a first-class prize by the national Ministry of Education, was a complete forgery. The six professors provided detailed description of their evidences and opinions. They also signed the letter with their real names.

A year after that, Li Liansheng sued three of the six professors in court. The six professors pooled their retirement funds to help the legal defense.

Their case suddenly turned in November, 2009, when Li Liansheng abruptly withdrew the lawsuit. On March 20, CCTV openly reported the case, which apparently spawn an immediate reaction from the school. Li Liansheng was stripped of his professorship and had his employment contract terminated.