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Pro big tobacco expert refuses to give up laurels
By Ni Tao |
March 18, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
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XIE Jianping, deputy head of a tobacco research institute in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province, recently defied popular demands that he give up his coveted title of academician, conferred by the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Xie was elected into this pantheon in 2011 for his "remarkable research" on reducing tar in cigarettes. His crowning honor sparked a wave of criticism for it was considered a public insult to reward someone whose research only benefited a killer industry.
Every year more than a million Chinese die from lung cancer caused by smoking. Critics noted that Xie's research contributed to "efficient killing," and blasted the academy for endorsing it.
Two years on, the pressure is building on Xie to relinquish his undue honor, but according to Pan Yunhe, executive deputy president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Xie refused to forfeit his laurels, and the academy could not force him to do so.
Xie's affiliation obviously endears him to the tobacco industry and its lobby.
No wonder that he clung tightly to it. But science should never be harnessed in service of a known menace to human health. Therefore, he has to be shown the door.
Exactly how that will happen is a question the academy must seriously consider. Despite its insistence that previous decisions are hard to rescind, there is every sign that the academy itself warrants reform.
Most important is the exit mechanism. Over the years the academy has continually admitted new members, sometimes without screening their credibility or consulting the public.
Wise men in charge of this elite club must come up with a way to kick out those who tarnish its image, or never admit them in the first place.
Xie was elected into this pantheon in 2011 for his "remarkable research" on reducing tar in cigarettes. His crowning honor sparked a wave of criticism for it was considered a public insult to reward someone whose research only benefited a killer industry.
Every year more than a million Chinese die from lung cancer caused by smoking. Critics noted that Xie's research contributed to "efficient killing," and blasted the academy for endorsing it.
Two years on, the pressure is building on Xie to relinquish his undue honor, but according to Pan Yunhe, executive deputy president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Xie refused to forfeit his laurels, and the academy could not force him to do so.
Xie's affiliation obviously endears him to the tobacco industry and its lobby.
No wonder that he clung tightly to it. But science should never be harnessed in service of a known menace to human health. Therefore, he has to be shown the door.
Exactly how that will happen is a question the academy must seriously consider. Despite its insistence that previous decisions are hard to rescind, there is every sign that the academy itself warrants reform.
Most important is the exit mechanism. Over the years the academy has continually admitted new members, sometimes without screening their credibility or consulting the public.
Wise men in charge of this elite club must come up with a way to kick out those who tarnish its image, or never admit them in the first place.
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