Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

China in new tech embarrassment as coding guru suspended for fake claims

China in new tech embarrassment as coding guru suspended for fake claims

Liu Lei faces an investigation after the Mulan programming language he said was entirely built by his lab was found to be partly based on an existing one. It is the latest such case amid a push to develop home-grown technology
China faces another embarrassment in its drive to build home-grown technology after one of the country’s leading research institutes suspended a senior computer scientist for making false claims.

The latest case involves computer programming language, but it is not the first in the hi-tech industry.

China imports billions of dollars in computer chips and software from the West and has made it a national goal to reduce that dependence by investing huge amounts in developing China-made products.

However, the prospect of such funding has led to a number of claims, such as China-developed microprocessors and internet browsers, that turned out to be fake.

Now, the prestigious Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing says it has suspended lab scientist Liu Lei and that he faces an investigation.

Liu is the lead developer of a computer programming language known as Mulan, which he had claimed was entirely built in China.

That turned out to be not the case. Other software developers investigated Mulan and revealed it was partly based around an existing open-source programming language known as Python, which has more than 8 million users worldwide.

In an open letter dated January 17, Liu apologised for misleading the public. He said his lab wrote the basic code for Mulan, but also used Python to enable the language to run on more sophisticated machines for complex tasks.

His suspension was announced in a statement posted on the institute’s website on Sunday.

He could not be reached by phone for further comment.

Mulan was named after a heroine in a Chinese legend, but is known more formally as Module Unit Language. It was pitched as a programming language for beginners and had a significant potential market – more than 10 million students under the age of 14 were learning software coding in China in 2018, according to a China News Service report.

Liu had earlier said it was capable of a wide range of tasks, from building a website and controlling a robotic arm to playing chess.

As recently as January 15, he had said in an interview with state media that the language was used in 700 primary and middle schools across the nation. He said it could be expanded to industrial sectors, such as the “internet of things”.

“Mulan was developed entirely by our lab … with core technology truly in the hands of Chinese,” Liu was quoted by Science Times as saying.

The institute where he worked before he was suspended is China’s top research agency, its work ranging from developing cybersecurity to artificial intelligence.

According to two of his colleagues and information on the institute’s website, Liu was a “star scientist” leading the institute’s programme to promote computer skills and knowledge among younger students. The institute did not respond to the Post’s queries for comment.

Yang Xingqiang, a professor of computer science at Shandong University, said the scandal damaged the nation’s drive for innovation.

“The public will have less trust in the research community, funding for projects may be reduced, and researchers who are doing honest work will be collateral damage,” he said in a phone interview with the Post on Tuesday.

China has been here before. In 2018 a web browser known as Redcore was found to have used computer code from Google’s Chrome product. The developer had earlier said it was 100 per cent developed in China.

And in 2003, former Shanghai Jiao Tong University professor Chen Jin claimed to have developed the nation’s first computer chip on par with Western products.

The Hanxin project led by Chen received more than 100 million yuan (US$14.5 million) in public funds, only for it to be revealed later that it was a chip made by Motorola with the name filed off.

The Hanxin case resulted in a collapse in public confidence in home-grown research.

In 2018, China imported US$310 billion worth of computer chips, nearly two third of the world’s total production.

China’s dependence on Western technology also weakened the position of Beijing negotiators in recent trade disputes with the US and left some of China’s biggest technology companies, such as Huawei and ZTE, facing sanctions.

Yang at Shandong University said the Mulan case was not as bad as the fake chip scandal, because Liu’s team had made some original contributions.

The module unit they used in the language’s design was a novel idea similar to building blocks to shorten the time for young students to get familiar with coding.

“Learning coding from an early age is important. Some of my students started coding in middle school, and they shocked me with the speed they read and write code,” Yang said.

“I don’t think coding education will be affected by this incident,” he added.

Another researcher said China’s focus on building home-grown computer code was linked to getting government funding but was unnecessary.

“There are many open source platforms. They are safe and have a large, thriving ecological system with many contributors around the world,” said the Beijing-based computer scientist, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
“We should embrace them rather than developing a closed, self-obsessed system,” he said. “A home-grown product is not necessarily better. Mulan is a wake-up call.”
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×