The Paper Journalist Yang Yang and Chen Lingyao
The Dongpu Peninsula on the shore of Shushan Lake in the western suburbs of Hefei, Anhui, is usually called the "Science Island". It is the seat of the Hefei Institute of Material Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Hefei Institute). The atmosphere on the island of less than 3 square kilometers is quiet, and most of the time it is low-key as if it is isolated from the world. But here is the birthplace of cutting-edge technology, with large scientific experimental devices such as controllable nuclear fusion and steady-state strong magnetic fields.
Unless there are major scientific research results released, the general public has rarely focused on Science Island in the past. However, a recent news that "more than 90 people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have collectively resigned" pushed Science Island to the forefront and triggered the State Council General Office to lead the establishment of a special working group to Hefei for investigation. Why did the one-time mass resignation incident happen? The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) recently interviewed and visited Science Island to sort out and restore the resignation incident and the various signs and incentives that deserve attention before and after its occurrence.
The Paper learned from people familiar with the matter who did not want to be named that the special working group is currently conducting in-depth talks with cadres at or above the department level in the Hefei Institute on the resignation incident and conducting comprehensive investigations.
Another staff member of the General Office of the Hefei Hospital Office told The Paper on July 23 that in the joint working group’s investigation, the hospital was providing relevant evidence, data and facts, and “all the resigned staff should also come back for investigation.” . The person said that the investigative working group stationed in the past few days has been working intensively and "will receive investigation requests from the working group at night." As for whether the relevant incident is a normal departure, it is under investigation. "I believe the high-standard working group will give the public the most realistic result."
Hefei Institute of Nuclear Research, except for special instructions, all pictures in this article were taken on-site by The Paper reporter Chen Lingyao
A few pieces of the puzzle of the collective resignation incident
Is the collective resignation momentary or premeditated?
A few days ago, the Chinese Business Report reported that "Multiple Scientific Researchers of the Hefei Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences "Leave"" stated that the fuse of the collective resignation incident was the forced replacement of security for the nuclear institute by the institute. The scientific researchers of the nuclear institute believed that their rights and interests had been violated. There were fierce conflicts between the staff of the hospital and the nuclear institute.
According to multiple investigations by The Paper (www.thepaper.cn), more than 90 resignees are from the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Nuclear Research Institute), Hefei Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The conflict caused by the replacement of security did occur on the same day as the collective resignation (June 15), but it is impossible to conclude that there is a causal link between the two.
A screenshot of the scene of the conflict on June 15 reported by China Business Daily
A staff member of the Hefei Institute close to the Nuclear Research Institute revealed to The Paper that unlike other research institutes in the Hefei Institute, the Nuclear Institute has been using fingerprint locks for a long time. Entering the nuclear institute, this caused dissatisfaction with the hospital, which is a potential contradiction between the two. Therefore, the new security company hired by the hospital came to take over and replace the access control system that day, which did cause internal dissatisfaction and conflicts within the nuclear institute.
However, it is worth noting that after the conflict, “employees within the nuclear institute began to instigate or even coerce other employees to resign collectively. Some people signed, some people mistakenly thought that they would not really resign and also signed.” The person told The Paper. Called.
The focus of the conflict between the two sides shifted. In the morning, the hospital received resignation applications from the nuclear institute staff one after another, and its attitude was tough. In the afternoon of the same day, more than 10 departments involved in the normal resignation process were arranged to go to the nuclear laboratory for collective office work and go through relevant procedures. During this process, there were no incidents such as the hospital surrounding the departed personnel of the nuclear institute that were rumored on the Internet.
According to The Paper, the total number of nuclear institutes reached four to five hundred during the peak period, but this is the result of including a large number of non-staff personnel. The current total number is more than one hundred. The gap in the number of people is not entirely caused by the outflow of personnel. After some major projects are completed, the staff (especially the project hires) will naturally shrink.
The collective resignation incident of the Nuclear Research Institute of Hefei Academy of Sciences shocked the industry and outsiders. A researcher in the same field from another university told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that an employee of the nuclear institute he knew had just applied for a large project and had good prospects for development in the institute. Resignation meant that everything was in vain. But still joined the collective resignation queue.
The access control system seen by The Paper when it visited the main building of Hefei Institute of Nuclear Research. A security guard said that his company had not been stationed for a long time and he had just been transferred. "It was hired by the hospital. It's been about a month or two (for security)."
On the afternoon of July 22, a person who was still working at the nuclear institute told The Paper that “the change of security and the resignation of more than 90 people should have nothing to do with it.” He said that more than 90 people no longer come to work at the institute. But what is rather strange is that after the resignation incident, the data transmitted by the Internet was deleted. "I don't know who deleted it. Some data in our office was deleted. It is some data for daily office work. The specifics are not very specific. Good to say."
In addition, another person from the Hefei Institute also mentioned the details of the data deletion to The Paper. "It is said that some neutron source research data have been deleted."
An anonymous user broke the news on the Internet, "Speaking of which you are gone, the scientific research materials you produced in H should theoretically belong to H Institute, not that all the materials of H Institute belong to a certain team. You guys have gone theoretically. You can’t take it away, nor can you take away the personal laptops equipped in H. (The truth is that you took everything away. Even the scientific research materials that didn’t leave were filed back some time ago, leaving behind people’s scientific research materials. It's also a bunch of bit data)."
If there is indeed a sudden loss of scientific research and technical data, the nature of the incident is more serious than the mere loss of personnel. Regarding the aforementioned online claims, The Paper is still being tracked.
When The Paper tried to get in touch with a number of nuclear personnel who had left this time, the other party refused to interview.
High-pressure management and hospital reform
Many people who have graduated from the nuclear institute, left the nuclear institute, or are familiar with the personnel of the nuclear institute, all mentioned the unique internal culture of the nuclear institute: high-pressure management when interviewed by The Paper. This management style was brought by Wu Yican, the current director of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology, who was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in November 2019.
Wu Yican has long been engaged in nuclear science and technology research. According to a previous report in China Science Daily, in 1999, he returned to Hefei Science Island in Anhui to form a team. In 2011, received the task of the person in charge of the nuclear safety institute. Wu Yican's team has carried out a lot of work in the field of neutron experiment technology.
Wu Yican
According to the report, Wu Yican has won many domestic and international awards. When a reporter asked which award impressed him the most, his answer was the Outstanding Mentor Award of the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "For myself, this is the most special award."
The unique management culture of the Nuclear Research Institute is not only embodied in the independent security system on the grounds of "preventing the leakage of confidential data", but also embodied in the physical isolation of internal and external networks, waterproof walls, and scientific research materials are stored on the intranet. For staff management in the institute, Wu Yican has always been quite strong.
The manager of a shop near the Nuclear Research Institute in Hefei Institute told The Paper that in the past, researchers in the institute usually worked until 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. “Generally, Dean Wu would go to various places to see around 8 o'clock in the evening and work overtime. After this incident (collective resignation) has been upset, I rarely see the lights in the building at night."
Outside of work, Wu Yican's biggest hobby is playing volleyball, and he is also keen to let employees and students conduct volleyball training and competitions to cultivate "team spirit". There are three volleyball courts in the nuclear institute, and there is an indoor volleyball court on the second floor of the nuclear institute. In 2015, a press release of the institute stated that “The'Kaiping Cup' Volleyball League is one of the traditional cultural activities of the FDS team of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology...More than 160 volleyball fans from the 7 departments of the team formed 7 volleyball teams ."
But this caused headaches for many grassroots employees and students in the institute. Some Zhihu users commented in the online community that “work is sloppy, chores, and playing volleyball with Boss Wu, but there is no real help in scientific research, but all kinds of difficulties in the institute.” The Paper learned that this Not alone.
Wu Yican's style has many fans. Many years ago, when his team undertook ADS (Accelerator Driven Subcritical Nuclear Energy System), he had directly found money for core employees.
However, the highly centralized and high-pressure management model unique to the Nuclear Research Institute has been impacted by the drastic reforms in the Hefei Institute.
Public information shows that in February of this year, the Hefei Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held a video work meeting for the heads of agencies and supporting departments, focusing on the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, recent important work development, planning the "14th Five-Year Plan" and future plans, and promoting the reform of the research institute. Deployed. Dean Liu Jianguo emphasized the importance of reform to promote the innovation and development of the Institute. He said that the goal of the reform is to achieve high efficiency and flattening of scientific research and management, and to create a professional, professional, functional organization that dares to act and make a difference. And service agencies, and coordinate the positioning of each research unit according to goals and missions.
Jianguo Liu worked at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in his early years. He was promoted to the dean by the vice president of the Hefei Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the end of last year.
After Liu Jianguo took office as the new president, the so-called "flat management" implemented throughout the hospital has caused considerable controversy in the hospital.
Some people from other research institutes in Hefei Institute told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that the reform in the institute has resulted in a series of results: including the abolition of three institutes including the Changzhou Advanced Manufacturing Technology Institute, and the original personnel rights of many institutes, The financial power was greatly increased, the hospital deducted 20% of the project funds (higher than the usual proportion in the industry), and the directors of several institutes had weakened the approval power for the use of project funds.
When this series of reforms met with the nuclear institute's management model with Director Wu Yican as the core, the foreshadowing of the fierce conflict between the two parties had already been laid, and the confrontation and collective resignation on June 15 formed.
An anonymous netizen commented on the reform measures of the Hefei Academy on a forum on June 12, saying, “It is said that a new academician on the island is planning to “leave” the Material Academy with more than 100 members of the team.
The Paper has learned that Wu Yican himself has not resigned.
According to the official website of the Nuclear Safety Institute, on the afternoon of June 17, that is, two days after the security conflict and collective resignation, Wu Yican presided over the mid-2020 work progress meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Safety, emphasizing that “the Institute of Nuclear Safety serves as the Hefei Institute of Materials Research One member, will continue to firmly support the reforms of the Institute under the new situation, and require all scientific researchers to continue to maintain scientific rationality during the epidemic, do not spread rumors, believe in rumors, or spread rumors, and encourage all personnel in the Institute to remain mindless and continue to do well in the front line of scientific research. Work in this position and make outstanding results."
"Anhui Zhongke Fenglin Department" intensively established within two months
According to a person from the Hefei Institute close to the Nuclear Research Institute, Wu Yican has put a lot of energy into the industrialization of scientific research in recent years. In various official activities, in addition to the academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the director of the Institute of Nuclear Research, his commonly used titles include "the founder of Fenglin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."
According to the information published on the official website of the Nuclear Institute, Zhongke Fenglin began in 1986, mainly engaged in the research and development of advanced nuclear systems and related safety technology research. It originated from the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has developed into Zhongke Ruihua, Companies such as Zhongke Superfine, Zhongke Chaoan, and Zhongke Shijin are technology industrialization platforms, and a multidisciplinary research team established in close cooperation with many scientific research institutions at home and abroad. The key research areas include neutron physics and advanced fission nuclear energy. , Fusion nuclear energy, cross application of nuclear technology, etc.
The official website of Zhongke Fenglin is playing down the connection with Wu Yican. When The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) used advanced search to search for "Wu Yican" on the company's official website, many pieces of information in the search results could not be opened normally (Internal Server Error), such as some media previously reprinted on the website Reports on Wu Yican, as well as "Researcher Wu Yican was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences", "Researcher Wu Yican was selected for the National Hundred and Thousand Talents Project" and so on.
When The Paper searched for "Tianyancha" using "Zhongke Fenglin" as the key word, information about 9 closely related companies appeared. Among them, there is Anhui Zhongke Chaoan Technology Co., Ltd. (established in October 2015, Anhui Hades New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. holds 66.67%, Wang Fang holds 22.22%, and Hefei Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences holds 11.11 %, owns the trademark of Zhongke Fenglin), and Zhongke Fenglin Technology Co., Ltd. (100% owned by Haimet (Beijing) Engineering Technology Co., Ltd.) established in January 2020.
It is worth noting that the other 7 companies headed by "Anhui Zhongke Fenglin" were established between May 26 and July 3, 2020.
From late May to early July, 7 companies headed by "Anhui Zhongke Fenglin" were established intensively
There are rumors that employees who resign from the Nuclear Institute are likely to join the above-mentioned Zhongke Fenglin company or Zhongke Chaorui (Qingdao) Technology Co., Ltd., which is mainly engaged in the development of neutron photography nondestructive testing products. As of press time, The Paper has not yet confirmed that any employees who have recently left the Hefei Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences during the resignation storm have joined the aforementioned companies.
In addition, Wu Yican's name does not appear in the shareholders and executive lists of the aforementioned companies. The legal representative of Anhui Zhongke Chaoan Technology Co., Ltd. and the "Anhui Zhongke Fenglin" intensively established in the past two months is Hu Juping, who also serves as an executive of the aforementioned companies.
Hu Juping is suspected to be an employee of Hefei Institute. According to a news from the institute in July 2018, from July 16 to July 24, the Science and Technology Development Division of Hefei Research Institute organized 12 personnel engaged in the transfer and transformation of achievements in the scientific research unit and the transfer and transformation platform of the Hefei Research Institute. 9-day "Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hewu Mug Tenth Achievement Transfer and Transformation Talent Training Course". Hu Juping was among the 12 participants.
Hu Juping's position in the Fenglin Department of Zhongke (click on the picture to enlarge)
On the afternoon of July 23, The Paper came to the business information registration addresses of a series of companies related to "Zhongke Fenglin". Among them, in the office building of Anhui Zhongke Nuclear Energy Safety Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. (renamed from Anhui Zhongke Chaoan Advanced Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd.), which also has Hu Juping as the legal representative, one A person who claimed to be the security of the floor where the company was located did not deny that Hu Juping was working here, but when The Paper asked to meet and talk with him, the person said that he needed to make an appointment with Hu himself in advance.
At No. 55, Science Avenue, High-tech Zone, Hefei City, Anhui Province, the registered address of a number of recently intensively established "Anhui Zhongke Fenglin" series of new companies, The Paper did not find the office of the relevant company.
According to a report in Caijing magazine, some of the resigned scientific researchers go to colleges and universities to teach, some find their own way and find another job, and some start their own businesses. The report quoted a person from the nuclear institute as saying that there are still some resigners who may join Fenglin Zhongke. "Director Wu mentioned in the institute before that if you want to buy a house or a car, come to my company if you want. Let's make money together. But the entry procedures have not yet been completed, and now the wind is too tight."
Why did the collective resignation incident alarm the State Council?
On July 20, the Bureau of Science Communication of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that a few days ago, "the collective resignation of more than 90 people from a research unit under the Hefei Institute of Material Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences" aroused concern from all walks of life. The party group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to set up a special working group on July 17th. The working group arrived at the Hefei Institute of Material Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on July 19th to conduct investigations. The working group is headed by Wang Keqiang, member of the Party Group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Secretary-General, and composed of responsible comrades from relevant departments of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to news from the official website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on July 21, in order to implement the spirit of the important instructions of the central leaders, Liu He, the vice premier of the State Council, listened to the report of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and requested the General Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units to establish a special working group. The Academy of Sciences conducted an in-depth investigation on the employee resignation incidents of its affiliated research institutes.
So far, the situation of "more than 90 people resigning collectively" has suddenly escalated from online attention.
Why did this incident alarm the State Council and send a special working group? This starts with the importance and functions of the Nuclear Institute. (The following content is intercepted from the official website of the Nuclear Institute)
According to the official website, the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is an innovative research institute that conducts basic, forward-looking, and strategic research in the fields of nuclear safety and advanced nuclear technology. The goal is to build an internationally advanced basic research on nuclear safety technology. Base, nuclear energy safety professional and innovative high-end talent training center, nuclear power station and other nuclear facility safety technology comprehensive support platform and third-party evaluation agency.
Relying on the Institute of Nuclear Safety, the "Key Laboratory of Neutron Transport Theory and Radiation Safety of the Chinese Academy of Sciences", "Key Laboratory of Neutron Physics and Control Technology in Anhui Province", "Anhui Provincial Nuclear Emergency Professional Technical Support Center", and "Anhui Province Precision Academic institutions such as the Radiotherapy Engineering Technology Research Center and the Fusion Nuclear Safety Research Center were appointed by the Ministry of Science and Technology as the Chinese lead unit for the fourth-generation nuclear energy international organization (GIF) lead reactor system, and led the establishment of the “International Small Lead-based Reactor Alliance CASLER” ”, “China Lead-based Reactor Nuclear Energy Industry Innovation Strategic Alliance” and “High-end Radiotherapy Industry Alliance” and other industrial alliances, have built an advanced nuclear system design simulation comprehensive experimental platform, a strong current neutron source and radiation technology comprehensive experimental platform, and liquid metal loops The total value of scientific research equipment exceeds 1 billion yuan with three comprehensive experimental platforms, including the comprehensive experimental platform for materials technology.
The National Nuclear Safety Institute IAEA and ITER International Cooperation Program, National "973"/"863" Program, National Key R&D Program, National Natural Science Foundation Major Program, National Magnetic Confinement Nuclear Fusion Special Project and Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Leading Science and Technology Special Project and other major projects With the support, the in-depth integration of "research, learning, and production" has achieved a batch of world-leading original scientific and technological achievements.