COST OF KNOWLEDGE

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), a leading governmentaffiliated think tank, has stopped using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) journal platform due to its high annual subscription price, sparking controversy about the affordability of China’s largest academic database.

Founded in 1999, CNKI hosts over 280 million academic articles, or over 90 percent of all published papers in China. The company has long been criticized for its monopoly status and high fees—CAS allegedly paid 10 million yuan a year to subscribe. In the last decade, six universities, including the prestigious Peking University, have stopped using the database due to expensive renewal fees.

CNKI has also courted controversy for copyright infringement. In 2019, 89-year-old retired professor Zhao Dexin sued the company for collecting over 100 of his articles without his knowledge, which he had to pay to download. Last December, a court ruled that CNKI take down all Zhao’s articles and pay him over 700,000 yuan.–Y.T.

AUTO AD INFRINGEMENT

Two car advertisements by Audi (FAW-Volkswagen) and Honda were indicted for copyright infringement one after another in May after they were lauded by viewers for being “creative.”

On May 21， Audi posted a video endorsed by Hong Kong actor Andy Lau on the theme of China’s Xiaoman （小滿， “Grain Buds”） calendar term， which gained over 100，000 views on WeChat in less than 24 hours. However， Douyin user “Beida Mange” said the ad plagiarized a video he made two years earlier. The following day， writer Ning Yuan also accused a Honda video ad from April of copyright infringement.

Audi and the company behind its video， M&C Saatchi， have apologized to the public and reached a settlement with Beida Mange. The China Advertising Association condemned the brands on Weibo for lacking creativity and violating intellectual property rights， calling for all industries to learn the lesson. At press time， Ning Yuan still hasn’t received an apology from Honda.–ANITA HE （賀文文）

AIR CRASH TRAGEDY

On March 21, China Eastern Airlines’ flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed in Tengxian county, Guangxi, killing all 132 passengers and crew on board in China’s first fatal air crash since 2010.

The Boeing 737-800 jet plunged from its cruising altitude without prior communication, and the cause of the deadly crash remains unknown, with the plane’s two flight communicators still under analysis in Beijing and Washington. An initial report by China’s Civil Aviation Administration, released on April 20, concluded that the plane and crew had all met the safety and maintenance requirements prior to takeoff.

The tragedy also sparked debate on how the press should cover disasters, with some netizens criticizing an article by Portrait magazine, published 24 hours after the crash, for exploiting the tragedy for clicks. The reporters had reached out to families, friends, and colleagues of the victims, creating a personalized story of those onboard.–Y.T.