More CEOs Drawn into Tang Jun's Fake Academic Credentials Scandal

Translation: 唐骏“学历门”事件升级 牵出一群造假老总, originally from Yangcheng Evening Post (羊城晚报)

Tang Jun, former president of Microsoft China (Source)

Tang Jun (唐骏), former president of Microsoft China and current CEO of Newhuadu Industrial Group (新华都), has been facing a string of accusatory claims that he falsified his Ph.D. credentials. The accusations came from Fang Zhouzi (方舟子), a popular science writer who is known for combating academic misconduct, and caused a huge stir on the internet. The event further escalated yesterday when Tang Jun acquiesced to an interview by CNR, during which he openly responded to doubts and questions for the first time. However, as late as last night, Fang Zhouzi and others continued to examine Tang's academic records. An alleged Tang's school roster also began circulating, and it shows that many more Chinese public figures graduated from the dubious Pacific Western University. Their educational backgrounds are likewise suspicious.

Doubt 1: Is his doctoral degree real?

The whole controversy started on July 1st, when Fang Zhouzi wrote on his sina microblog that Tang Jun never obtained any degree from California Institute of Technology (as was supposedly written in Tang's book My Success Could Be Duplicated). "I could not find Tang Jun among the list of graduates from CIT's computer science department. Nor was there anyone whose last name was Tang. U.S. Ph.D. dissertation databases do not contain his thesis either."

After a few days of silence, Tang Jun told the CNR reporters that "I never said I graduated from CIT with a Ph.D, but I had done a bit of research there. I do have a doctoral degree, just not from CIT."

Where, then, did Tang Jun get his Ph.D.? Tang claims that he was in a Ph.D. program in Japan for five years, only to abandon everything and head to the U.S. right before his defense. "I ended up at a private university called Pacific Western (PWU), did some research, and got my degree. I have diploma to prove it."

Doubt 2: PWU is not a real university?

Tang Jun claims that PWU is an accredited university. Can he tell us who his thesis adviser was, what his research topic was, and where it was published? --Fang Zhouzi

Fang Zhouzi relentlessly pursued the subject concerning Tang's PWU degree. According to one of his microblog updates yesterday: "Tang said that he graduated from PWU, but this is a notorious university known for selling diplomas for money. It first registered in Hawaii, but never received any accreditation from relevant U.S. agencies. Due to repeated scams, PWU was sued by the State of Hawaiian and was forcefully disbanded." Fang Zhouzi pointed to a survey by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which listed the prices of PWU diplomas as follows: bachelor's, $2,295; master's, $2,395; doctor's, $2,595, all of which must be one time payments. "What's the difference between Tang's purchased 'doctoral degree' and a fake degree? Neither is recognized by society or any institution. The person cannot legally claim that he has a doctorate."

Doubt 3: Fabricated patents

I invented this thing. I produced all the original data, software, and hardware. Why can't I say it is mine? --Tang Jun

Additionally, Fang Zhouzi cast doubt on the two patents that Tang claimed to own. One was for a camera that produces photo stickers and the other for a karakoke rating machine. "First, all relevant English documentation declare that the camera was invented during 1994-1995 period by a 30 year old Japanese woman named Sasaki Miho. Second, the patent for the karaoke rating machine was filed by Pawate, and later by Tanaka and Wakamoto. Tang does not have any patents under his name."

Tang Jun responded by saying "I came up with the camera prototype" but that he sold the prototype to a Japanese company. "I never said I filed the patent application, but the prototype was created by me. And this is always what I say during my speeches." As for the karaoke invention, Tang explained, "I got the technology and the design ideas while in school. Then I put together the first model. At the time, I was negotiating with a Korean company through an intermediate company, eventually filing for patent through this Korean company. I believe I have an claim to the patent over its entirety."

Tang Jun's scandal implicates Shanda

The statements Tang Jun made about his Japan sojourn during the CNR interview meant he never obtained his degree in Japan.

This portion of the interview led the public to question Shanda's 2004 prospectus for NASDAQ. Tang Jun was the CEO of Web Development Division at Shanghai Shanda (盛大) from 2004 to 2008. On his microblog, Fang Zhouzi pasted an excerpt from Shanda's prospectus, "Mr. Tang holds a doctorate degree in electrical engineering from University of Pacific Western, a doctorate degree in electronics from Nagoya University, Japan."

"Tang Jun claims that because he felt regret for not receiving a degree in Japan, he wanted to get a degree from an American university. But Shanda wrote in its prospectus that Tang Jun graduated from Nagoya with a Ph.D. This is supplying stockholders with false information." Fang Zhouzi said.

Shanda has not responded as of the time of this report.

PWU scandal involves many

Just when Fang Zhou was posing questions about Tang's academic credentials, Chairman (surname Yu 禹) of the Board of Directors at some Beijing investment twittered: exposing the falsehood behind one's credentials destroys one's livelihood; it is a "mean-spirited act." Yu's message was very sympathetic towards Tang Jun. Netizens soon discovered that PWU also figures prominently in this Chairman Yu's vitae.

The scandal then took a turn for the dramatic. A netizen somehow obtained a directory of all those who graduated from PWU's business school with a Ph.D. On this list, Yangcheng Evening News reporter saw many CEOs, presidents, senior directors, seniors directors of publishing agencies, as well as directors of research institutions. Some netizens thought this to be amusing, [for, by attracting attention to himself,] Dr. Yu managed to expose all his fellow schoolmates. The reporter is currently verifying the authenticity of this list.

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If you can access this LinkedIn page, it confirms that Tang Jun was not being forthright when he told the reporter "I never said I graduated from CIT with a Ph.D, but I had done a bit of research there. I do have a doctoral degree, just not from CIT." (unless this was a profile set up by someone else in Tang's name)

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Related Post

Why Diploma Fraud Won't Be the End of Tang Jun?

SARFT Spokesperson Calls for a Stop to Sister Phoenix and Other Vulgarities

Translation: 广电总局发言人：凤姐等低俗文化应坚决叫停

Zhu Hong (朱虹), director and spokesperson of the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT), visited at Huazhong Normal University a few days ago to head a special topic seminar for teachers as well as students. In this "The Responsibilities of Media" seminar, Zhu Hong said that all vulgar TV programs must end.

Zhu Hong defined how TV programming should be. One type leads to correct high culture. An example would be Chinese Inspiring China (感动中国), a 7-year old "spiritual" CCTV show that yearly compiles a list of 10 Chinese citizens who have touched the heart of China. The other type comprises all the popular shows, like Xiao Shenyang's performances. Outside of this scope, "Sister Phoenix" (or Sister Feng) and other instances of vulgar culture should be resolutely halted to prevent further spread in society. Zhu Hong admits that many problems exist in TV programming presently, one of which is rampant cloning. He used Super Girl and Liu Chen's magic shows to illustrate the point: as soon as one show becomes a hit, other stations fall over themselves copying and emulating. The audience soon tire of watching the same thing.

Zhu Hong also commented on the now quite popular dating shows. Born out of the society's needs, they had positive meaning in the early days. As time went on, however, such shows digressed. One must be vigilant and guard against such deterioration. TV stations should not promote materialism or expose details of private lives just to attract viewers.

When the discussion turn to regulation and censorship, Zhu Hong pointed out that every country has its own department doing the same thing but perhaps in a different manner. The government must be proactive, because if left unchecked, negative culture factors will eventually cause the situations to go out of hand.

Southeast University Admits Jiangsu Student for Writing Gaokao Essay in Classical Chinese

This boy took a risk on his college entrance exam and it paid off.
Jiangsu's essay prompt this year is "Green Life" (绿色生活)

Translation: 东南大学预录用文言文写作文考生(组图). Originally from Yangtze Evening Post （扬子晚报)

Vice President, deputy secretary Liu Bo (刘波) gives the admission notice to Wang Yunfei (王云飞). Photo by Shi Jutao (时巨涛)

A copy of Wang's essay (Click to enlarge)

11 a.m. yesterday in the Rugao High (如皋中学) conference room, Wang Bugao (王步高), expert in Classical Chinese and Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Southeast University, printed "Wang Yunfei" on an early admission notice. The notice was then personally handed over to Wang Yunfei by Liu Bo herself, who holds positions of deputy secretary and vice president. Wang Yufei is the first student to be admitted by Southeast University (东南大学) where he will be studying civil engineering.

Deputy secretary visits Rugao to "grab" the special talent

Wang Yunfei who was born and raised in the rural part of Jiangsu suddenly found him the center of spotlight when his college entrance exam essay appeared in the news. The essay, written in piantiwen, has even classical Chinese experts singing high praises. Ever since our newspaper ran the June 26 article about his composition, Wang Yunfei has been continuously receiving media requests for interviews. He was stopped by yet another group of reporters when he came back to the Rugao campus yesterday morning. When asked "what do you most want to do right now," he answered, "Sleep. I am so tired."

The media is not the only group to extend the olive branch to Wang. Many universities have offered him admission. In the end, Southeast University won.

Vice President Liu Bo said that their interest was greatly piqued by the Yangtze Evening Post piece about a Classical Chinese gaokao essay, but it was not until the 26th that they learned the student's identity. It so happened that he is from Rugao High School, the first high school outside of Nanjing to become affiliated with Southeast. Making the university even more anxious to admit this student is the fact that Wang Yunfei plans to major in engineering, and the institution has some very strong engineering programs. Once Southeast verified with the provincial testing agency that Wang Yunfei indeed wrote the excellent essay, Deputy Director Feng Jianming (冯建明) reported the student's information to recruitment and began contacting Wang Yunfei. Southeast eventually decided to early-admit Wang Yunfei into its prestigious civil engineering department and completed all requisite paperwork within a day. "We didn't recruit a student. We got a talent." Feng Jianming declared with satisfaction.

Beida loses out

The reporter discovered that Beijing University (abbr Beida. It is China's equivalent of Harvard) recruiters were also quite interested in Wang. Unfortunately they lost this talent to Southeast who managed to be a step ahead. Besides, Wang is stubborn. Once set on his course, he cannot be swayed. "I made a verbal promise to Southeast. A man should have integrity, and my dreams remain unchanged. I must study engineering, so Southeast is a good choice."

Science and engineering students also need culture

Professor of Chinese Language and Literature Wang Bugao accompanied Southeast administrators to Rugao. He was very impressed with Wang's work. Not only was the central idea sound, but also writing a pensive essay about the man-caused destruction to nature in an hour and half, using classical Chinese, is no small feat. The piece was well-organized and the transitions were smooth. "It is very precious coming from a high school student, because most Beida and Tsinghua students have not reached this level." Said Professor Wang.

Wang Yunfei scored 384 on his gaokao. Southeast made an exception admitting him. "Our university has always been partial to students with unique talents. And we are committed to providing them with a good environment." Liu Bo claimed. In fact, Southeast has had a long relationship with traditional Chinese culture, because it is the only "institution for higher-education to be built in palaces." Its campus sits directly on top of palace grounds that served six dynasties. Both Yongle Encyclopedia (永乐大典) and Zhaoming Wenxuan (昭明文选) were compiled here. It once was the site for the Imperial College (国子监) and has been a place of scholarly learning for more than 639 years. "Students who are accomplished in traditional Chinese culture should be sought out by schools." Liu Bo believed.

Liu further explained that the sentiments expressed in Wang's essay, concerns over mankind's relationship with the environment and its humanitarian implications, are much desired qualities in science and engineering people. She hoped that Wang Yunfei will participate in poetry clubs or even establish literature clubs of his own in college.

• Reporter's note
  

From "Death of Chitu" to "Classical Chinese Wizard"

Today's piece puts the perfect punctuation mark to our "Classical Chinese Wizard" series. I am sincerely glad for Wang Yunfei. The string of developments reminds one of the 2001 gaokao essay "Death of Chitu （赤兔之死）," and I too started that news coverage. The two compositions are similar: the former written in ancient vernacular and the latter in parallel prose style. The two sets of news reports also echo one another. We provided the first spark to what were to become unstoppable wildfires that ultimately changed the gaokao fate of two pupils.

Some people likened the young students to Ma Nuo (马诺), attributing their sudden celebrity status to media hype and manipulation. The writer does not deny the power of internet and tradition media, but there are more behind their rise to fame.

Both ancient vernacular and parallel prose style are forms of writing increasing distant from our world. In addition to curiosity, the public's heightened attention to "Death of Chitu" to "Classical Chinese Wizard" came as a result of amazement and admiration--we recognize its beauty even though we are unable to write in such a way. Don't be misled by arguments like "propagandizing these essay means a call to return to the old ways." We do not advocate the restoration of the ancient ways. Even the public has no such intention. Instead people's interest stems from their attachment to and longing for traditions and classics. A nation with a long history cannot be without a love for the classical. So public interest should not be belittled by the comparison to Ma Nuo's case.

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Just to clarify, writing in any forms of old Chinese is not the foolproof way to a high score. A couple of years ago, one essay in oracle bone script received a 6 (out of 60).

Regarding Wang's 384 score. At first I though he did badly on all the other parts of his exam because normally the total is 750. Here is what one commenter on sina has to say:

Ever since the gaokao reform, Jiangsu's total score dropped to 480. This year a student wanting to go into science or engineering only needs to have 355 to be admitted into one of the national key universities. Wang's mark surpassed that line by 29. The admission requirement in Southeast is predicted to be 391.