MCLC: Nobel conflict of interest controversy

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Sabina Knight <sabinaknight at gmail.com>
Subject: Nobel conflict of interest controversy
********************************************************

In posting the essay below, I want to second Kirk's concern about the
"political reductionism² that distracts from discussions of Mo Yan¹s
works. The reading I offered in my NPR interview
(http://soundcloud.com/onpointradio/mo-yan-wins-nobel-prize), I hope, let
the power of Mo Yan's writing speak for itself. I'm hoping the Prize will
inspire more people to read and write about Mo's masterful body of work.

Sabina

=======================================================

Source: Foreign Policy (10/18/12):
<http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/18/was_there_a_conflict_of_int
erest_in_the_nobel_literature_prize>

Was there a conflict of interest behind the Nobel literature prize?
Posted By Elias Groll

Last week's decision to award the Nobel Prize in literature to Mo Yan was
national news in China as state broadcasters broke into
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/oct/11/mo-yan-nobel-prize-china> the
regularly scheduled evening news to make the announcement that a Chinese
writer had finally won the prize, easing anxiety among the country's
leaders regarding the Western world's recognition of Chinese cultural
prowess.

But now the integrity of that prize has come under question in Sweden.

Göran Malmqvist, a sinologist and member of the Swedish Academy, was
instrumental in Mo's selection, lobbying the academy to recognize the
Chinese writer and providing Swedish translations of the writer's work to
other members of the academy. Now he stands to benefit financially from
those translations. According to a report by Swedish Television
<http://www.svt.se/kultur/bok/akademien-kan-ha-brutit-mot-javsregler>,
Malmqvist will provide his translations to a Swedish publisher for
publication. And according to the head of that publishing company, Tranan,
because of the intense interest on Mo's work as a result of his Nobel win
Malmqvist will likely be able to name his own price.

According to an examination of the academy's policies carried out by
Swedish Television, Malmqvist's actions in this case may be in violation
of the Swedish Academy's conflict of interest rules, which are extremely
strict in order to prevent this type of real or perceived impropriety. If
there is even a slight indication of conflict of interest, the person in
question is supposed to leave the premises during discussions regarding
the candidate, and a member of the academy affected by a potential
conflict of interst can "in no way participate in the handling of the
question."

In borderline cases, or ones that may only create a perceived conflict,
the academy's rules dictate that its members should err on the side of
caution: "There may be circumstances that simply do not 'feel right' and
that therefore could be called into question ... In such cases members
should err on the side of caution, and it may be appropriate to refrain
from participating in the handling of the question."

Despite these rules, Peter Englund, the academy's permanent secretary,
confirmed to Swedish Television that Malmqvist was highly involved in
discussions around awarding Mo the prize.

In the ensuing media frenzy, Englund and Malmqvist have both denied
accusations that he stood to inappropriately benefit from awarding the
prize to Mo.

Englund said in an email
<http://www.svt.se/kultur/bok/peter-englund-det-har-ar-inte-jav> to
Swedish Television that Malmqvist did not have an agreement in place with
the publishing company to provide translations of Mo's work prior to the
academy's decision to award him the Nobel. Only after that decision did
Malmqvist provide the publisher with his translations. Critics of course
contend that this is a disctinction without a difference, and that
Malmqvist knew that he stood to bring in a hefty contract by having
translations of Mo's work ready for publication as soon as the prize was
unveiled.

Malmqvist, meanwhile, is nothing short of furious at the accusations and
sent a blistering email
<http://blog.svd.se/kulturchefsbloggen/2012/10/17/en-stingslig-akademi/
<http://blog.svd.se/kulturchefsbloggen/2012/10/17/en-stingslig-akademi/>thi
>>
this week to a group of Swedish reporters and editors worth quoting at
length:

"Swedish Television's culture desk has apparently fumbled in the dark when
they decided to try and dig up a conflict of interest scandal. Send them a
message from me the next time you see them at your morning coffee that
they should get better glasses or more powerful flashlights the next time
they decide to venture out in the dark. With idiots like ... Anton
whatever-his-name-is at Swedish Television's culture desk I suppose we
have gotten the kind of cultural coverage that we deserve in this
provincial backwater."

If this scandal develops further, it is only likely to further inflame
Chinese insecurities about the prize. It doesn't take a great deal of
imagination to conjure up the inevitable angry statement issued by a CCP
spokesman about how anti-Chinese elements in the Western cultural
establishment will go to any length in order to discredit the achivements
of Chinese artists, especially one that hasn't yet fallen out of favor
with the regime.