记者：David Cyranoski

英国《自然》2010年9月29日

（翻译：方舟子）

　　在中国，科学能变成一场粗野的游戏。8月29日，方舟子在从北京一个茶馆回家的路上，遭到袭击。这位在过去的十年间在其网站上揭露科学造假者的前生物化学学者被两名男子追赶，用铁锤攻击。

　　“我相信他们计划要杀我，”他说。“让我闭嘴的唯一办法是杀掉我。”他逃脱了，受了小创伤和淤血。在6月，一名报道过中国科学腐败现象的记者方玄昌被两名男子用钢筋袭击，伤势更严重。

　　9月21日，警察逮捕了武汉同济医学院泌尿科医生肖传国，怀疑他策划了这两起袭击。肖传国无法联系上发表评论，但是他已向北京警方承认涉案。方舟子说肖传国可能面临着三到十年的监禁，如果被以故意杀人起诉的话刑期还会更长。

　　肖传国和方舟子从未见过面或谈过话，但是他们的人生道路在互联网上以及在法庭上发生交叉。肖传国与方舟子以及方玄昌的冲突因肖传国发明的一个手术方法而起，该手术旨在让脊柱裂或脊椎损伤的病人恢复大小便功能。该手术涉及重建神经回路，肖传国报告它有非同小可的87％成功率。2005年，他被提名参选中国科学界的权威机构中国科学院的院士。

　　肖传国获提名后，人们开始在方舟子的网站张贴文章质疑肖传国的说法。2005年9月，方舟子在《北京科技报》上发表一篇文章，称肖传国并非如其简历里所说的是纽约大学的副教授，而只是助理教授。该文还说在肖传国罗列的26篇英文文章中只有4篇是论文，其他的是学术会议的摘要。

　　不知方舟子的文章是否影响了中国科学院的决定，但是肖传国没有当成院士，从那以后肖传国已5次起诉方舟子伤害其名誉。方舟子的网站曾被指责为投稿者提供平台不正当地攻击他们的敌人，他输了其中的一场诉讼，赢了两场，还有两场未判。与此同时，对“肖氏手术”的批评还在持续。去年，方玄昌发表一系列文章质疑其有效性，这可能导致了对他的袭击。

　　北京律师彭剑说他采访了20～30名做过肖氏手术的病人，他们在手术后出现后遗症，正在索赔。今年夏天，《泌尿学杂志》报告了该疗法在美国首次临床试验的不确定结果，同时发表两则社论称它应被认为只是实验性的手术。

　　同时，方舟子没有被袭击吓倒。“它阻止不了我，”他说。“我将继续做我在做的事。”

Published online 29 September 2010 | Nature 467, 511 (2010) | doi:10.1038/467511a

News

Brawl in Beijing

Critics of Chinese researchers targeted in physical attacks.

David Cyranoski

Former biochemist Fang Shimin has made enemies after scrutinizing scientists’ reputations.FANG SHIMIN

Science can be a rough game in China. On 29 August, on his way home from a tea house in Beijing, Fang Shimin was assaulted. The former biochemist — who for the past decade has run a website exposing scientific fraudsters — was chased by two men, caught and attacked with a hammer.

"I believe they planned to kill me," he says. "The only way to shut me up is to kill me." He escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. In June, Fang Xuanchang, a journalist who had reported on corruption in science in China, was left with more serious injuries after two men assaulted him with steel rods.

On 21 September, police arrested Xiao Chuanguo, a urologist at Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, on suspicion of master minding both plots. Xiao could not be reached for comment, but has confessed his involvement to Beijing's police. Fang Shimin says Xiao could face 3–10 years in prison — or more if the charges become attempted murder.

Xiao and Fang Shimin have never met or spoken, but their paths have crossed on the Internet — and in court. Xiao's clash with him, and with Fang Xuanchang, revolves around a surgical procedure devised by Xiao that aims to restore bladder and bowel function in patients with spina bifida or spinal-cord injuries. Xiao reported an impressive 87% success rate for the operation, which involves re-routing nerves1,2. In 2005, he was nominated for membership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the elite body of the Chinese scientific world.

Following his nomination, people started posting questions about Xiao's claims on Fang Shimin's website (http://fangzhouzi-xys.blogspot.com). Then in September 2005, Fang Shimin published an essay in Beijing Sci–Tech Report, which said that Xiao was not an associate professor at New York University as he states in his CV, but only an assistant professor. Furthermore, the article said that only 4 of the 26 English-language publications Xiao listed were journal articles — the rest being abstracts from conference proceedings.

It is not known if Fang Shimin's article affected the academy's decision, but Xiao was not made a member and has since sued Fang Shimin for libel five times. Fang Shimin, whose site has been criticized for giving contributors a platform for unjustified attacks on their enemies3, lost one case and won two, with the other two undecided. Meanwhile, criticism of the 'Xiao procedure' has continued. Last year, Fang Xuanchang published a series of articles questioning its efficacy, which may have prompted the attacks on him.

Beijing-based lawyer Peng Jian says he has interviewed 20–30 patients who have experienced side effects after undergoing the Xiao procedure, and who are seeking compensation. This summer, the first US trial of the treatment reported ambiguous results in The Journal of Urology4, and two journal editorials said it should be considered experimental4.

Fang Shimin, meanwhile, is unfazed by the attack. "It won't stop me," he says. "I will continue to do what I am doing." 

References

Xiao, C.-G. Proc. Int. Conf. Urol. Shanghai, 2–4 July (2005).

Xiao, C.-G. Eur. Urol. 49, 22-29 (2006). 

Cyranoski, D. Nature 441, 392-393 (2006).

Peters, K. M. et al. J. Urol. 184, 702-708 (2010).