Academic Corruption in China: Insights From the Chinese Literature and a Critical Discourse Analysis

• In Event: 69.012 - Systemic Academic Corruption in Higher Education: A Global Perspective

Abstract

As China tries to take its seat at the top table of global academia, it faces a serious challenge: a corrupted academic culture that has had devastating effects on higher education development and the entire nation’s modernization. The toxic culture of corruption has led to the distortion and inefficiency of institutions and the system. It also causes great damage to individual and institutional morale and to the style of academic work nationally, ruins the academic atmosphere of Chinese universities, and pollutes the minds of young students (Yang, 2005).
While academic corruption has not been documented much in the English literature, there have been increasingly heated debates within China. Based on a search for the literature using IngentaConnect via the electronic library at the University of Hong Kong on June 22, 2016, this paper uses a critical discourse analysis to provide international readers with insights from the Chinese literature on China’s academic corruption (Wodak & Meyer, 2015). This analysis will depict current corrupt practices, their cultural roots, and counter measures. Through such an analysis, this paper will shed light on the social phenomenon of academic corruption in China, as well as how corruption currently inhibits advanced scientific development in Chinese universities.

Author

• Rui Yang, University of Hong Kong