Fang Zhouzi

Fang Shimin, better known by his pen name Fang Zhouzi (born 28 September 1967), is a Chinese popular science writer who is primarily known for his campaign against pseudoscience and fraud in China.

President and co-director of New Threads, a publication and website that promotes Chinese culture to the general public, Fang's aggressive campaign against allegations of academic fraud has been hotly debated; while Fang's works have appeared in many Chinese publications, various Chinese scholars have accused him of vigilantism and of using populist rhetoric in academic research.

Fang Zhouzi (real name Fang Shimin) was born in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China in September 1967.

Fang stated that his pen name, "Fang Zhouzi", is derived from a classical Chinese expression for "two ships sailing together"; in his case, the two ships stand for science and literature.

Fang graduated from University of Science and Technology of China in 1990 and enrolled in Michigan State University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1995.

Fang then worked at various institutions as a postdoctoral researcher in molecular genetics.

Fang is famous for his website, New Threads (established in 2001), that discusses poor-quality science in China and his efforts to expose poor scientific work, fraud and increase the profile of research ethics in China have received wide coverage.

Within the country there is no official body or procedure to handle complaints or examine allegations of fraud, and Fang started the website as an unofficial platform to expose instances.

In 2006, a series of accusations and counter-accusations on Fang's website lead to significant media attention, criticisms of the self-conducted investigations by Chinese universities, and greater involvement by independent investigative bodies such as the Ministry of Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences or the National Natural Science Foundation of China in investigating allegations; though these institutions already have a role in investigating academic misconduct though their involvement is seen as ineffective.

In the summer of 2010, after Fang questioned the efficacy of his surgical procedure and the accuracy of his curriculum vitae, urologist Xiao Chuanguo hired thugs to assault Fang in Beijing.

Fang escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, but believed it was an attempt to kill him.

Xiao had sued Fang for libel five times in the past five years, winning one case, losing two and two further being undecided.

The dispute between Fang and Xiao dated to the founding of the New Threads website, when Fang had used the website to question the accuracy of Xiao's application to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Fang is married to Liu Juhua, a senior reporter at the state-controlled Xinhua News Agency.

Fang is a permanent resident of the United States.

When in the United States, he lives in San Diego.

Fang is an active campaigner against what he perceives as fraud in the Chinese society.

His anti-fraud efforts initially targeted academics, but later expanded to public figures in general.

In a 2010 article in The New York Times, Fang ascribed the problems with Chinese scientific integrity to the university system being run by state bureaucrats with little or no knowledge of the fields they administer, who base their decisions regarding research grants and career advancements on the number of scientific publications found, rather than their quality, where or if they were published.

According to Fang, other problems include fellow researchers who protect their peers, sometimes due to personal connections and sometimes due to a fear of being exposed themselves.

As of 2010 Fang's website had listed over 900 examples of academic fraud, which included presidents of universities and nationally known researchers.

Fang has also accused nonscientists of fraud and plagiarism.

Fang questioned the qualifications and degrees of high-profile Chinese businessman Tang Jun, the former president of MSN China, who acquired his PhD degree from a diploma mill rather than the claimed California Institute of Technology.

He also questioned former Google China president Kai-Fu Lee's intention for stating he was an associate professor at CMU in the Chinese version of his autobiography, while being actually an assistant professor.

Lee responded by attributing the error to "nuances lost in translation".

Fang has accused Li Qun, a local Chinese official responsible for enforcing China's one-child policy, of falsely claiming to have worked for New Haven, Connecticut mayor John DeStefano Jr.., and blogger, author and race-car driver Han Han of having his father ghost-writing for him, though Han denied the accusations.

In 2012 Fang shared the inaugural John Maddox Prize, given out by Nature and Sense about Science to "individuals who have promoted sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest, with an emphasis on those who have faced difficulty or opposition in doing so."

The announcement of Fang's presentation summarized his contributions, saying:

As an outsider, trained as a biochemist but turned science writer and commentator, [Fang] has done much of what the scientific community aims, but often fails, to do — root out the fakers.

For example, Fang called into question DNA supplements that were widely advertised as a means to rejuvenate the tired, the pregnant and the old.

Eventually, the government issued warnings about the supplements.

Fang seemed to especially relish smacking down powerful or popular scientists.

He even challenged official support of traditional Chinese medicine.

But his targets fought back, in one case with particular hostility.

...

Fang imposes transparency on an opaque system.

He has opened a forum for criticism and debate in a community that is otherwise devoid of it.

In Jan 2012, Fang accused Ping Fu, the Chinese-born American CEO of Geomagic, of fabricating stories in her memoir Bend, Not Break.

In response, Fu posted a series of corrections and clarifications.

Fang continued to make personal attacks on Fu, and later expanded his criticism to American media, calling the Daily Beast "the shame of American journalism" by making what he considered as a biased report.