Leading Chinese scientists warned against research plagiarism and corruption at a major national meeting over the weekend.

Zhou Guangzhao, chairman of the China Association of Science and Technology (CAST), spoke out against unethical practices at its fourth annual conference.

This year's CAST meeting, in Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, for the first time set a theme of social responsibility.

The choice of theme was influenced by the timing of the meeting, held after the SARS outbreak in the first half of this year.

Zhou said the nation was hopeful scientists would develop drugs or vaccines against the SARS virus soon.

But some Chinese scientists had failed to understand the severity of the disease, despite the good work of their peers, he said. They made unsupported claims about its cause and potential vaccines or treatments, misleading the public, Zhou said.

Some Chinese scientists claimed they would develop vaccines against the SARS virus within months, rather than the normal development period of years. They proved to be overoptimistic.

"Although public pressure played a part, we must also lay the blame on unrealistic attitudes and the search for instant results that have existed in China's scientific community for years,'' Zhou said.

His remarks were echoed by Zou Chenglu, a reputed biologist, who slammed malpractice in China's scientific community in a presentation at the meeting's opening. He singled out plagiarism and falsified experimental data as the most glaring problems.

Some researchers have also been found issuing misleading results because of business interests, he said.

Zou said self-regulation alone is not enough to curb such corruption. Something has to be done to ensure the health of China's scientific research, he said.

The CAST meeting has become a major event in the nation's scientific calendar. More than 100 academics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering attended, some of whom are expected to report on their latest advances. The meeting will conclude on Tuesday.

Zhou, in his opening remarks at the meeting, called on Chinese scientists to contribute to society with their research as the country strives to improve the well-being of its 1.3 billion people.

"The fact that we have the largest population in the world and a less-developed economy means we have to have better technology and more well-educated minds to improve the overall social well being of our country,'' he said.

The choice of the venue for the meeting -- in Shenyang, the heartland of China's heavy industry -- reflected the CAST's concerns about the application of scientific research in China.

The central government has launched a plan to rejuvenate the ailing industries in Northeast China and the meeting's participants have been asked to contribute their ideas.

Chen Zhili, a State councillor with the State Council, who attended the meeting, also noted that China could not afford to follow in the footsteps of Western industrialization in polluting the environment and consuming natural resources.

It is up to Chinese scientists to help complete the arduous process , she stressed.

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