INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Zhai Tianlin enjoys the red carpet, here at the 2018 Bazaar Men of the Year in
Beijing
Zhai Tianlin - also known as Ronald Zhai - is a well-known actor in China who is used to the limelight
With more than 11 million followers on the social media website Sina Weibo, he's more accustomed to positive comments and praise from fans
However, this week he has received extra attention, for all the wrong reasons
At first, he was jubilant after being accepted into Peking University, one of the country's most prestigious institutions, to study for a
doctorate at the Guanghua School of Management
He posted his admittance letter confirming his place saying: "A new journey, please cheer for little Zhai!" Image copyrightSina WeiboImage
caption
Zhai's acceptance letter from the Peking University
This had 48,000 shares, and 79,000
It led to a number of people searching online for his previous written pieces
But the South China Morning Post spotted discrepancies in Zhai's submissions
It reported that two of his essays came under scrutiny, with one containing no citations at all and another that "appeared uncannily similar
to an article published by an academic journal in 2006."Zhai's management company initially rejected the claim, but the news website,
Global Times, revealed he had submitted a paper that was "40 percent plagiarised", sparking claims of academic fraud and corruption, and
anger that the rich and powerful were getting admissions to a top university
By 14 February, the actor, who stars in the Chinese television series White Deer Plain, published an apology when claims of historic
plagiarism came to light, prompting hundreds of thousands of reactions.Image copyrightSina WeiboImage caption
In his
apology Zhai said he was filled with regret and felt deeply responsible
"Vanity and good fortune have made me forget
"It is due to my misconduct that this school's reputation has been affected
It has impacted academic discussions and filled the public with disappointment and a lack of trust." He went on to say he had formally
applied to withdraw his position for post-doctoral research and he was sorry to have disappointed his fans who supported him.More than
175,000 Weibo users have since used the hashtag #ZhaiTianlinApologises
His friend and actor, Yin Zheng, posted: "You know you did wrong and want to change, it probably sounds too good to be true, but the world
is still kind", which gained 262,000 likes.Many users were angry for the late apology, especially as his studio had threatened to take legal
action against those making online allegations
However, ardent fans showed their continued faith in him, with 90,000 agreeing he was "still a good actor" and 63,000 acknowledging he did
the right thing to apologise.Beijing Film Academy, from where Zhai graduated as a PhD student in 2014, said it was cooperating with the
authorities about other issues that have triggered social concern, adding "The Ministry of Education, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee
and the Municipal Government is attaching great importance to this."At a recent news conference, a spokesperson for the Ministry of
Education said it had ordered the relevant authorities to investigate, and also look into similar possible cases, reaffirming its zero
tolerance towards academic misconduct
