Oxford University Press (OUP) has announced it will stop publishing Forensic Sciences Research (FSR), a journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Justice, following long-standing ethical

concerns about the use of DNA data from vulnerable populations.

According to a statement on FSR’s website, OUP will cease publication after the 2025 volume. The journal, operated by China’s Academy of Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice, has been published by OUP since 2023.

FSR has faced criticism for publishing studies that involve genetic data from Uyghurs and other heavily surveilled ethnic groups in China. Critics argue these studies may have involved coerced participation and could support mass surveillance. One 2020 study, for example, used DNA samples from 264 Uyghurs in Xinjiang’s capital, Ürümqi. Although the paper claims participants gave consent and that data was anonymized, the lead author was affiliated with the Xinjiang Police College, raising questions about coercion.

OUP issued an "expression of concern" about that paper in 2024 but has not retracted it. However, it has retracted two other FSR articles since 2023 due to similar ethical issues, both involving researchers from Chinese police institutions.

Forensic science in China is often conducted by state-affiliated entities with limited oversight, prompting worries that research may not align with international ethical norms—especially given the Chinese government’s documented use of DNA collection for surveillance of Uyghurs, who have faced mass detention and repression in Xinjiang.

Yves Moreau, a professor at the University of Leuven who raised early alarms about FSR, welcomed OUP's decision but criticized the lack of detail in the public explanation. “The brief statement fails to address the important issues at stake,” he said.

FSR, launched in 2016, describes itself as China’s only English-language quarterly focused on forensic medicine. The journal will be taken over by KeAi, a joint venture between Dutch publisher Elsevier and a Chinese partner. FSR's co-editor-in-chief, Duarte Nuno Vieira, has previously denied that Chinese government sponsorship affected editorial independence and did not respond to recent requests for comment.

OUP declined to explain further why it is ending the publishing arrangement. Meanwhile, concerns continue to grow about the ethics of genetic research in China, particularly when conducted by institutions connected to law enforcement or the state.

“Forensic genetics powers police databases and investigations,” Moreau noted. “But in countries like China, with widespread surveillance of minorities, such research must be held to the highest ethical standards.” Photo by Jonas M, Wikimedia commons,.