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Counterfeiters are reportedly finding ways to foil China's new electronic registration system for university diplomas. According to government statistics, 600,000 fake diplomas are circulating in China, although many officials suspect that the actual number is much higher.

A confidential list of students admitted to the prestigious Shanghai Communications University, along with information about their qualifications and the influential people who pushed for their admission, has been circulating on the Internet in China. The leaked list has renewed public debate over allegations of corruption in university admissions.

Corruption in admissions procedure, the sitting of exams and the allocation of scholarships is rampant in Chinese universities. One positive outcome of a recent plagiarism scandal is the design of a code of conduct for students and professors by Beijing's University.

For many years now in China, plagiarism among professors and cheating among students have been acceptable practices in a society that has shown little awareness of intellectual property-rights protection almost anything can be copied or counterfeited if the price is right.