Scientists urge more attention on scientific integrity

Senior Chinese scientists call for safeguarding scientific integrity at a meeting held under the auspices of CAS and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).
Co-chaired by Prof. SHI Changxu and CAE Vice President of DU Xiangwan, a symposium on scientific outlook on development convened from 17 to 19 November in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province.
"The fundamentals of scientific spirit lie in the attitude of seeking truth from facts and being honesty," Prof. JIAN Shuisheng, a CAS Member and an expert in telecommunications from Beijing Jiaotong University, was quoted as saying by Beijing-based Sciencetimes. However, universities and research institutions are not an exemplary institution for scientific integrity nowadays.
A scientist should be ready to live a poor but honest life, notes Prof. Jian. However, the situation is too impetuous. People are eager to seek quick success and instant benefits. The current evaluation system, for instance, even stipulates the precise number of papers a researcher has to publish. Judged by this norm, even Charles K. Kao, a pioneer in the use of fiber optics and telecommunication, could not be regarded as a qualified scientist as he has published only one paper in his research career, according to Jian.
The practice for training athletic professionals should not be adopted to cultivate scientists, Jian stresses, because the upbringing of an S&T worker has its own unique methods as convincingly shown by S&T history.