The Financial Times had an article yesterday saying they had reviewed 10 on-line PhD theses of the Chinese Politburo ( not all of them had their theses on line) and found plagiarism in three of them. That is a pretty high rate, even if it is a small sample.
I wish the academic communities of the world did more reviews of plagiarism in its colleges and universities. China is certainly not the only example of senior officials getting a degree using someone else's work. These are academic cheaters. You would think a university would do a little checking since the work has to be reviewed by graduate professors. They should know that the words are a little too familiar and need to be checked.
This is not the same as buying a degree. I once sat on a contract award where we reviewed proposals. In one of them were six PhDs from the same university - that I had never heard of. I checked it out and talked to the contracting officer. She contacted the company and asked for an explanation in writing of the credentials of this university. They withdrew their proposal the next day, without explanation.
This is not just a Chinese problem but it is an indication of the real thought that went into the PhDs of some of the leaders. It is a fraud on the themselves and on the people they govern.
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