The Taiwanese government has announced it will set up an office of research integrity in the wake of an alleged academic fraud scandal at the country’s leading university.
Chen Liang-gee, minister of science and technology, said the office will build a database of different types of breaches of academic integrity in Taiwan and other countries that will serve as a reference for research project heads and help establish better ethical standards.
In February, National Taiwan University fired two professors who had been accused of academic fraud. An investigation found that a research team had presented a host of misleading images in several papers, two of which were later retracted for image duplications.
The university’s president, Yang Pan-chyr, who co-authored several of the papers, was cleared of any wrongdoing. However, last month he announced he would resign at the end of his first term in June.
Mr Chen said the centre, which is based on the US’ Office of Research Integrity, will include the case in its database for reference.
