[2][3][6] One of these efforts was to require the scientific authoritative journal Science and Technology Daily to carry an article critical of Hongcheng's invention, which had been previously rejected at several major Chinese publications.
[2][3][6] After this declaration, Song Jian, then chief director of the Chinese National Science Committee, held a conference on how to carry this work among the public.
[2] He Zuoxiu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well a notable scientist and debunker, had been invited several times by Hongcheng's supporters to visit the northeast and watch his invention in action.
[2][5][7] Hongcheng refused, prompting Zuoxiu and a group of other 40 scientists to ask the top Chinese legislative body, the People's Political Consultative Conference, to investigate his claims.
[2][6] The Chinese government decided to tighten the appraisal system for scientific claims and other measures like creating science and technology courts.
[2][3][6] After the death of Mao Zedong, several Western pseudoscience theories appeared in rural areas, together with the return to ancient China practices like ancestor worship, astrology and fortune telling.
To address all these issues, the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party made on 5 December 1994 a joint public declaration called "Some Suggestions on How to Reinforce the Popularization of Science".