Oxford University Press (OUP) is investigating three journal articles on forensic science that used genetic data from the Uyghur and Xibe ethnic groups in China.
The articles have been flagged by a Belgian academic, who questioned the validity of consent cited in the studies.
OUP published expression of concern statements about the papers on Monday and Tuesday.
Two of the three papers were published before OUP acquired the journal.
In 2021, a London-based independent people’s tribunal, led by Sir Geoffrey Nice, KC, found that the Chinese communist regime, through an array of repressive acts including mass internment, family separation, sterilizations, and forced labor, had implemented a “deliberate, systematic, and concerted policy” to lower the Uyghur population in the region.
The authors of the research paper were from the University of Copenhagen’s forensic genetics department, but one of them, Halimureti Simayijiang, was also affiliated with Xinjiang Police College.
Two other articles under OUP review used genetic data from the Xibe people, a smaller ethnic group in China.
The articles were both coauthored by Chinese researchers affiliated with the Criminal Investigation Police University of China and the Academy of Forensic Science, which belongs to the Ministry of Justice in China.
A spokeswoman for OUP confirmed to The Times of London that the Chinese state-run academy provides funding for and owns the Forensic Sciences Research journal.
“The costs of publishing the journal are incurred by Oxford University Press with financial support from the owner of Forensic Sciences Research, the Academy of Forensic Science, which is based in China,” the statement reads.
The report said the arrangement involving China has been in place before OUP took over the journal and OUP has maintained the arrangement for over a year. The Epoch Times has not independently verified the information.
OUP said the Chinese funding would remain in place for an “initial period,” according to The Times of London, which filed a Freedom of Information request about the arrangement.
In December, Duarte Nuno Vieira, the co-editor-in-chief of Forensic Sciences Research, rejected the suggestion that Chinese funding may have affected the journal’s editorial policies, according to The Guardian.
The Epoch Times approached OUP for comment.