Beijing Court Sides with Fang Zhouzi on CEB Rice Case

After half a year's recess, Beijing Western District Court reached its verdict on the libel case CEB Rice had filed against Fang Zhouzi.

The court considered a laundry list of evidences provided by both sides and chose to rely on only those on which neither side had explicitly objected.

On Fang Zhouzi's claim that the science behind CEB Rice was not an original discovery, the court found it was without factual bases (to which Fang Zhouzi disputes). Nevertheless, the court concluded that the defendant's claim was within the boundary of freedom of expression and did not constitute falsehood, insult, or libel.

On whether the protein SOD could survive the rice-cooking process and be benefit to human body, the court maintained that it was still not a well-established scientific fact. The dispute on this issue was normal expressions of opinion, and therefore not libel.

Finally, the court found the defendant could have used better language in his criticism but could not find any intention or fact of libel. Therefore, the court rejected the plaintiff's case and ordered CEB Rice to pay for the court fee.

It's quite remarkable that this court has unequivocally used the "freedom of expression" clause to decide this case in Fang Zhouzi's favor.

How Not to Win a Nobel Prize for China

The Chinese government has become so anxious in the prospect of winning a Nobel Prize that it provided all-expense-paid trips for Nobel committee members to China "to explain the selection process and what it takes to win a Nobel Prize". The matter is currently under investigation by a Swedish anti-corruption prosecutor.

Hey, it had worked for the Olympics!

Fang Zhouzi is one of "People of the Times"

Although his web site is still blocked in China, Fang Zhouzi is getting more and more publicity and recognition through his books, newspaper columns, and blogs in that country. Most recently, he was voted as one of thirty "People of the Times for China's Education" (中国教育时代人物). The selection was made by internet users and sponsored by the China Education News and three other official sites. Its purpose was to recognize thirty people who had made significant contribution to China's education through the thirty years of reform.

In an ironic twist, Fang Zhouzi's name was listed next to one of his nemeses, the president of the Xian Fangyi College Ding Zuyi. In his blog, Fang Zhouzi commented on such an occurance as "It's so harmony."

At Nankai, the Best Teachers are all Administrators

Recently, Nankai University(南开大学) announced that they are honoring ten professors in the school as the best teachers of the year.

A curious netter took a look of the list and reported on New Thread that everyone on the list is either the Dean, Associated Dean, or head of their department. Apparently, administrators can really teach in this school.

Students in Limbo after Expulsion

China Youth Daily tracked down a few students who had been expelled from the Newcastle University for using forged applications. Three of them agreed to be interviewed under the condition of not using their real names. They said all the students are now stuck in Britain unsure about their next steps. Eight of them had appealed their case and had them denied. Many were busy applying for other schools. But even if they are successful in that, they are not sure if they could maintain their visa status.

One of the three admitted that he/she knew that his/her application contained forged material. The other two claimed that they had never personally seen what were used in their applications. All of them had used some agencies in China to prepare and submit their applications. They declined to name the agencies.

From the interview, it appears that the agency or agencies took a free hand in fabricating TOEFL scores and personal experiences. School officials at Newcastle University appears to believe that these students were in fact swindled by the agencies. They have agreed to refund almost all tuition while remain unyielding with the decision of expulsion itself.

The mood of these students in their twenties is described as fear and helpless. Some of them have yet to tell their parents of their expulsion.

Government Aviation Site Rips Off Blog

Danwei reports that a web site owned by the Civil Aviation Administration of China had plagiarized an article published by blogger David Wolf. The article, as Danwei verified, was an exact copy but without any attribution.

The article is no longer available at the CAAC web site.

49 Chinese Students Kicked Out of British University

Forty nine new students from China, plus one from Taiwan, had been expelled from the Newcastle University in Great Britain for having forged their application material. A spokesman from the school was quoted saying "The forgeries, mainly certificates for English language qualifications or degrees awarded by other universities, are of such high quality that they could not have been detected by the usual checks carried out by admissions officers."

The school is advising other universities to take a closer look at their admission procedures.