China’s top national research and information publishing institution, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) is in hot water on China’s social media platforms after the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on Monday the suspension of its services because of the website’s high subscription fees and “extremely harsh” subscription requirements.
An email from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) went viral on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Monday, condemning the subscription fees charged by the CNKI data center, which reached over 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) last year, adding that the cost has become a “giant burden” on CAS’ resources.
The email said that after many rounds of tough negotiations this year, the CNKI insisted on its millionaire membership renewal fees and put forward requirements that are “extremely harsh.” As a result, the CAS can no longer gain access to CNKI’s database and the academy is considering other institutions for replacement, it said.
A library staff at the CAS confirmed with media on Monday the service suspension. However, the CNKI said the message “is not true.”
The CNKI previously faced an angry backlash from Chinese universities for frequently raising its prices. The Wuhan University of Technology suspended the services of CNKI in January 2016, claiming that the subscription renewal fee “soared outrageously,” adding that such behavior has been boycotted by many universities.
According to the university, the annual fee increase by CNKI exceeded 10 percent since 2000. Between 2010 and 2016, fees climbed up by 132.86 percent, with an average annual increase of 18.98 percent.
However, the university resumed the use of CNKI database one month after the suspension.
Peking University also suspended its cooperation with CNKI in 2016, saying that it will not compromise in face of the hyped-up prices.
The topic climbed to the top of the trending list on Weibo in only a few hours and netizens urged authorities to look into possible monopolistic practices involved in the matter while others said that, although it is understandable that the company needs to charge operation fees for the database, there is no sense in raising the bar every year to an extent that even the nation’s top science research institute cannot afford.
In the first half of 2021, CNKI’s main business revenue reached 496 million yuan ($77.7 million), with a gross profit margin of 51.30 percent, according to the company’s financial report.
Photo: VCG
