China's corruption busters target science sector in research funds crackdown
Li Xi, party chief of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), told a meeting of the body's standing committee on Tuesday that it needed to ensure that the country's scientific and technological development advanced 'in the right direction' to create a good environment for innovation.
He said this would require a focus on key risk areas, such as the evaluation process for research projects and the way funds were managed and granted. He added that the anti-corruption body must 'resolutely crack down on corruption that abuses project management authority to accept bribes, or colludes to embezzle research funds'.
Li also called for new regulations to plug loopholes and improve the governance of the sector, as well as more daily supervision and guidance that would encourage officials to take the initiative.
Technological developments could also bring new opportunities for disciplinary supervision, Li said, and called for a digital system and the greater application of big data and artificial intelligence to help fight corruption and improve efficiency.
The CCDI has previously indicated it was using these hi-tech tools to detect crimes that were harder to find through traditional methods.
'Even the most intricate and deeply layered schemes [of corruption] can ultimately be exposed through big data analysis, leaving no place to hide,' the CCDI said in a documentary released online in January.
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