Ministry of Education responds to Zhai Tianlin 'plagiarism' case

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Xu Mei, a spokeswoman of the Ministry of Education of China, made a direct response to the alleged academic misconduct case of the popular Chinese actor Zhai Tianlin, on a press conference on Friday.

She said the Ministry would urge the investigation to be carried through without delay. The investigation is not only about the actor's personal conduct, but also relevant to various phases of his work. She also reiterated the Ministry's zero-tolerance attitude towards all academic misconducts.

Previously, Zhai Tianlin posted an apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo on Thursday, after widespread doubts over his academic achievements.

The actor has been well-known for his outstanding educational experience, achieving both masters and doctoral degrees from Beijing Film Academy, and being just admitted as a post-doctorate by Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.

Both universities are recognized as leading institutions in China.

Screenshot showing actor Zhai Tianlin's apology letter. /Screenshot via Sina Weibo

In the apology letter, he said he was obsessed with vanity and fame to make improper speech and behavior. He said after he made some achievements as an actor, he became complacent and forgot his original pursuit. He added that he would maintain down-to-earth spirit in acting in the future.

He also said he officially applied to quit the study program at Peking University.

But no direct response to the accusation of plagiarism and academic counterfeit was made.

The official Weibo account of Beijing Film Academy also posted an announcement, saying the Ministry of Education, Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC, and the Beijing government pay high attention to this case, and an investigation team has been tasked with probing the matter.

Zhai Tianlin's friend, Yin Zheng's comment under the apology letter. /Screenshot via Sina Weibo

Later, Zhai's friend, actor Yin Zheng commented under his apology letter, "Tianlin, shall we just look at the script and be a good actor? It's good to correct a mistake after all. The world is still kind."

The controversy started during a live stream session by Zhai while interacting with the netizens. A fan mentioned China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), a most-frequently-used academic website in China.

However, Zhai appeared not knowing the website and asked: "What is CNKI?" Later the topic aroused hot discussion online, many doubting the possibility of a post-doctorate not knowing a site that even undergraduate students know.

Days later some sources posted evidence online, saying Zhai's academic paper cannot be found on CNKI and 40 percent content of another paper he published on a journal, was copied from another professor.

Zhai Tianlin poses for a graduation photo in Beijing, June 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Early on Thursday morning, more pieces of evidence were posted on Weibo, concluding the actor's scores at Gaokao, or National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), was not as high as he previously claimed.

Most likely speculation is that his grade at Gaokao was only 348, whereas he claimed it as exceeding 568, the lowest admission score for liberal arts students for national key universities in China that year.

Zhai was honored by fans as one of the few people in the entertainment industry with academic achievements. The contrast has made a jaw-dropping effect among the public, but there were still many loyal fans who said they'd like to forget about it and expect him to be a modest and diligent actor in the future.

(Top Photo: Actor Zhai Tianlin poses for a photo during an event in Beijing, March 30, 2018. /VCG Photo)