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And it is unfair to those who have studied for years to get a diploma. They are the ones with real certificatea but not the fame and success those people have, and that is what pushes the ordinary people to do the investigation and publicly expose them.Ordinary people's chances stolen by credential fraud

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I don’t know the feasibility of building a system like that. I believe if people want to fake it, they will always find their way around. But on the other hand, to set up a punishment system like establishing a blacklist for companies to share would be a good pre-warning sign.

Overall, the benefits they can get by making up a nonexistent diploma are far more than the punishment they might get. That’s why it prevails in China.

Global Times (GT) reporter Wu Meng talked to Zhou Xiaozheng (Zhou), director of the Institute of Law and Sociology at Renmin University of China, and Xia Xueluan (Xia), professor of sociology at Peking University, on the issues involved.

When we talk about fake diplomas now, we automatically associate them with celebrities. This is a misunderstanding and is misleading to outsiders. It is not fair on the celebrities.

GT: What is the fundamental reason for academic fraud in China?Ordinary people's chances stolen by credential fraud

GT: Will the campaign make it more difficult for celebrities and successful people to fake their diplomas? Or will the media supervision make the space tighter for such frauds?

The influence those people have had on the society is phenomenal. They have so much fame and money, and have also inspired a lot of young people. So when such things are exposed, the public is bound to feel angry and cheated.

Xia: It is undoubtedly very necessary for enterprises to check their employees’ background. Unfortunately it is necessary because the overall situation suggests that if you don’t check it, it is very possible that the diploma copy the employer is given is a fake.

GT: The fake diploma exposing campaign was initiated by millions of netizens. Can we say that ordinary people are more skeptical of famous people?

It is a good sign that people tend to question more and blindly worship less. People are beginning to realize that credibility might be nothing at all and they need to do some research to overthrow the old notion they had toward some celebrities, who have always been regarded as the symbol of success.

China has an official education certificate checking website with graduates’ university and diploma number. But I guess a lot of the companies have a “why bother?” attitude, and this is why cheating has been possible.

Tang Jun, one of China’s most famous businessmen, was recently exposed as an academic fraud after the discovery that he had forged his US university credentials. After his case became public, a number of people, including government officials, company executives and university professors, were revealed to have also faked their diplomas. Why is credential fraud so common? What measures can be put in place to prevent it?

Zhou: The fundamental reason for people faking their certificates and diplomas is that they are driven by personal interest. With a diploma, especially one from a foreign university, everything becomes easy for them.

For instance, at the moment, a bachelor’s degree in China means nothing in the big cities, especially at a relatively high-level position. A bachelor’s degree cannot get the holder promotion, welfare such as housing subsidy for government officials, or a rise in salary.

To establish a more secure and easy-to-use system is possible, and will only become more and more necessary in the future.

Zhou: I think they will definitely be more cautious, especially when they are hiring someone at a high level. It is bad publicity for the company and even if the employee is so good that their academic background doesn’t matter, their integrity and honesty will be compromised, and no company, especially big renowned ones, would want that to happen.

It’s more like a crowd of people beleaguering a couple just to make themselves feel better. Some of the accusations on certain people lack a sense of the search for truth. They just randomly pick on someone and start a so-called campaign.

GT: After a series of exposures, will companies and universities have a better assessment system employing people? Is there a possibility of setting up an accreditation system?

The focus of the whole anti-fraud campaign is now drifting away from what really matters – how to seek the lost integrity and honesty of traditional Chinese society.

Xia: The series of fake diploma cases shows that this society lacks a sense of honesty and integrity. Some people have crossed the moral baseline in order to gain some fame and money.

Therefore, for people who are already working at a high level academically or professionally, they want something to add some luster to their position. Also they need some higher certificates to assure their political position. But in the meantime, they feel reluctant to waste three years on something that they could obtain with some money.

Xia: The reason why the Tang Jun case became such a big deal is that it was the first to be exposed, and he was also the idol of a lot of young people. There is a big contrast before and after his case.

I believe there should be some rules and regulations and a responsibility system to make sure that online discussion doesn’t turn into a tool for tyranny.

I actually feel sorry for those people who unfortunately have been caught after years of success. They are just a small reflection of what is happening all over China. They shouldn’t be labeled as “cheats” and have everybody go after them.

GT: The latest anti-fraud wave has also targeted famous economist Zhang Weiying, who denied the accusations. Is the campaign going too far?

Zhou: Definitely. Fake products have always hurt ordinary people’s interest. Before we had fake cigarettes, fake wine, fake clothes, and now it’s fake diplomas. It seems that a fake diploma shouldn’t really concern them, but actually this is what deprives the ordinary people of the equal opportunity for a fair competition for work.

Xia: Perhaps it is. To be specific, this anti-fraud campaign was initiated by Fang Zhouzi, who has been exposing such frauds for years, almost like a profession. The millions of netizens are his followers. This shows that the netizens strongly oppose attitude toward deliberate fraud. But at the meantime, we can see that there is more impulse than reason.

I think there are more important things to look at, for instance, how to rebuild a credit system in this society. But sadly, I think more people look at this as a farce about a few famous people being criticized and loathed by everybody.

But I believe that the campaign will make it more difficult for people to fake their diplomas, and it will definitely make them fear the consequences more.

So there is a market. There is a huge demand. So I doubt one movement will have a foundation-shaking influence on the already rotten atmosphere.

On the other hand, lying about one’s academic background in China does not cost much even if it is exposed. There is no blacklist from companies to reject the people who have lied about it, and the law doesn’t cover it either.

Zhou: I doubt it. One anti-fraud campaign will not have a profound effect on the academic cheating phenomenon in China. There are hundreds of millions of people in China who have or will need an academic certificate, and it won’t be easy to track all of them down. This phenomenon is so popular that I am sure there are millions of people that have done it or intend to do it.

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