A professor has been accused of academic fraud after 60 articles were withdrawn from a scientific journal.
The accusations are centered on Chen Chen-yuan (陳震遠), also known as Peter Chen, who has since resigned from his position as associate professor of computer science at the National Pingtung University of Education in southern Taiwan.
The Journal of Vibration and Control, a leading publication in the field of acoustics, retracted 60 papers linked to Chen, accusing him of “perverting the peer-review process” by creating fraudulent online accounts representing 130 academics to give favorable judgements on papers to help get them published, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
Photo: Liberty Times
The New York Times reported that Chen had set up a “peer-review and citation ring” consisting of fake scientists, as well as real ones whose identities he had assumed.
Sage Publications, which produces the magazine, said the retracted papers all had at least one author or reviewer implicated in the ring and that other scientists were involved in the activity.
The Washington Post reported that the ring was rigging the review process to get articles published and the mass retraction was “mind-blowing.”
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“A fraud accusation like nothing you’ve seen before,” wrote Pulitzer Award-winning reporter and business author Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times, adding “this one takes the cake” for academic fraud.
Taiwanese Nobel laureate and former head of Academia Sinica Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday that “this is disgraceful, a very terrible thing.”
“Taiwan’s academic community must take stock of this, the old way of ‘quantity over quality’ must change. In competing for funding and promotion, many Taiwanese professors aim for a high number of published papers,” he said.
Among the retracted papers, five have Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) listed as a coauthor.
Chiang convened a press briefing yesterday and denied involvement.
“The five papers are not fraudulent, they are solid works of research done by my doctorate and master’s students. I will ask them to find out why the retractions were made. We shall defend our rights as necessary,” Chiang said.
Chiang said that some problems might have occurred during the review and publication process.
“I was only responsible for supervising the papers,” he said, adding that the individuals responsible for the alleged fraud should clarify the situation.
Chiang said he was only involved because one of his doctorate students was Chen’s brother.
He said that the brothers had assisted each other to organize the papers to be published and were responsible for listing the coauthors, “but because I was busy with official functions, I had no knowledge of these things until recently.”
Associate professor of law at National Chengchi University Liu Hung-en (劉宏恩) said: “The widespread scale of the scandal and the audacity of the perpetrated fraud are unheard of.”
He said Chiang was being irresponsible.
“So he was the supervisor for student’s research and listed as a coauthor, but when things go wrong, he pins everything on the student,” Liu said. “The matter needs to be investigated.”
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
TOKYO SUMMIT: The new Japanese PM’s words have demonstrated Japan’s ‘firm position on urging the prioritization of cross-strait peace,’ the foreign ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for supporting peace in the Taiwan Strait, a day after the two at a summit in Tokyo emphasized the importance of regional stability and ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea today. The previous day’s meeting was the first time Takaichi had met with the US leader since becoming Japanese prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Since taking office on Tuesday last week, Takaichi has urged the international community to
RSS