Economists should be subject to public scrutiny over their conscience, according to an article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows.

Inviting economists to sit as independent board members has become vogue among China's public companies.

Out of a total of 511 incumbent or independent board members in 274 listed companies, 131 are economists.

Some renowned economists even hold several positions in more than one listed company, receiving hefty bonuses.

The resignation of Wei Jie, a famous economist, as an independent board member of a listed company, sparked heated media debate about the "conscience" of economists.

For those economists-turned-board members, most of whom are movers and shakers in their respective circles, and it is difficult to make unfavorable reviews about the public companies due to their intertwined relationship.

Under such circumstances, those economists, confined by their ties with the listed companies, sometimes betray their conscience to make favorable comments about the companies they serve and mislead the public.

Though this kind of economists is still a minority, the harm they could inflict is considerable due to their fame.

Lured by economic interests, it is quite possible that some of them could betray their professional ethics to collude with the listed companies at the expense of those inadequately-informed small and medium investors.

Just as Chen Qingtai, deputy director of the State Council's Development Research Center, pointed out: "If an economist abuses his fame to make unfaithful comments on behalf of a certain group for personal gains, it will mislead the public and policy-makers and damage the public interest."

It is legitimate to question economists about their conscience.

(China Daily July 12, 2004)