China’s Top Academics Told to Toe Party Line With Public Statements

China’s top science academy has updated its code of conduct with new rules that require members ensure their public statements are “in line with the general policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” and prohibit openly expressing academic views unrelated to their field of expertise.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) code of conduct, which consists of 33 articles in six chapters, is an update of a version released nine years ago. The rules were created to “maintain the academic, honorary and pure nature of the academician title,” according to the code of conduct published by the CAS last month.