Today (February 15) is the deadline for Chinese universities to submit reports to the government on academic research papers in English and Chinese scientific journals that have been retracted within the past three years.

In addition to the list, schools must also explain the reasons for the withdrawal and investigate any research errors. The requirements were announced by the Science, Technology and Information Technology Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Education on November 20, 2023.

The review was ordered after UK-based Hindawi Publishing, a subsidiary of US publisher Wiley, retracted a large number of scientific papers by Chinese authors. A statement from China’s Ministry of Education said the decision by Hindawi and other publishers had damaged China’s reputation and academic environment.

According to an analysis by Nature , Hindawi retracted more than 9,600 papers last year, including about 8,200 with co-authors in China. Of the nearly 14,000 retraction notices from all publishers in 2023, about three-quarters involved Chinese co-authors.

Also according to Nature 's analysis, which only included English-language journals, more than 17,000 retraction notices by Chinese authors have been published since January 1, 2021, the start of the review period as announced by the country's Ministry of Education.

Researchers will have to explain why they retracted their papers. Xiaotian Chen, a library information scientist at Bradley University in the United States who tracks retraction and academic misconduct in China, said that if researchers fail to report a retraction and are later discovered, they will be severely punished.

It is not clear what the punishment will be, but in 2021, China's National Health Commission announced the results of an investigation into retracted research papers, including penalties such as salary cuts, bonus cuts, demotion, and suspension of the right to apply for research funding.