China to 'tolerate' scientific failures

BEIJING: Striving to become an innovation-oriented country, China is amending a law for the first time to allow scientists to report failures during the process of innovation without blotting their records in future funding bids.

The lawmakers say they want to lift some of the pressure on scientists to report successes to create a better environment for making innovations.

Legislators are discussing a draft amendment to the Law on Science and Technology Progress that states, "Scientists and technicians, who have initiated research with a high risk of failure, will still have their expenses covered if they can provide evidence that they have tried their best when they failed to achieve their goals."

Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang, explaining the draft to lawmakers, said that scientific and technological development depends on innovation for which a relaxed academic atmosphere is required to allow scientists and technicians to take scientific risks.

The high pressure has been blamed for contributing to the rampant academic frauds in China, Xinhua news agency quoted the scientists as saying.

Currently, there was an atmosphere of fear of failure in the scientific fields, which was harmful for innovation, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Bai Chunli, said.

"It's difficult to make achievements in independent innovation if the scientific research departments and scientists don't tolerate failures," Bai said.