Fang Zhouzi

Fang Zhouzi

Fang Zhouzi (方舟子) is a biological chemist known for his fight against corruption and pseudoscience in scientific, media and education circles in China.

Born Fang Shimin, he uses Zhouzi as his penname in his columns on the Internet and in newspapers and magazines to criticize corruption, fake stories and fraudulent scientific theories.

Fang set up a website in 2000 to rail against corruption in science, media and education fields, the first such site in China. His bold speeches attracted media attention, leading to many profiles on him appearing on Xinhua, in People's Daily, China Youth Daily and Wenhui Daily. He was also guests on CCTV news programs, including "Face to Face" and "People in the News." His efforts to guard integrity in academia also attracted attention from foreign media, including Science magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and Economist.

Fang's crusade has made him many enemies, according to Guangzhou investigative newspaper Southern Weekend. Fang claimed he was attacked Aug. 29, 2010, by two unidentified men with pepper spray and a hammer near his house, escaping with a minor injury to his back. He was accused of fabricating the attack to gain publicity just before the release of latest book, “Noah’s Ark," by Xiao Chuanguo. Fang has criticized Xiao, director of Wuhan Union Hospital's urologic surgery department, preventing Xiao from being elected into the Chinese Academy of Sciences.