We are writing to you as a group of finalists for the 2024 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition.
First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for the tremendous effort and dedication put forth by the committee members and staffs at the Damo Academy in organizing this esteemed competition.
Recently, there has been a heated discussion regarding one of the finalists, Jiang Ping, who ranked 12th in the Qualifying Round, and concerns have been raised by professionals in the relevant fields on her scores and math competence.
In a documentary video released by the Damo Academy, Jiang Ping made several apparent writing mistakes (e.g., writing "2"" as "2" writing "sin z" as "sin n?") while solving a math problem on the blackboard. It appears that she seemed unfamiliar with these mathematical expressions and symbols.
Math professor Yao Yijun from Fudan University claimed in an interview that, a colleague of him who had seen Jiang Ping's submitted answers commented that Jiang Ping was "skilled in using LaTeX". However, LaTeX is a typesetting system commonly used for writing technical documents, not a skill that mathematics learners necessarily need to master. Furthermore, LaTeX is highly sensitive to errors in math expression inputs, which seems to contradict the frequent writing errors she made in the video. P3
Allegations have been made that Jiang Ping's math teacher, Wang Runqiu, who ranked 125th in the Qualifying Round, may have assisted her in preparing the answers, with potential help from others.
We believe that the so-called "evidence" currently circulating on the Internet, including the concerns mentioned above, is too circumstantial to prove that Jiang Ping was involved in any misconduet during the Qualifying Round. However, given the impact on public opinion caused by such discussions, the organizing committee has an obligation, and also the capability, to address these concerns seriously and take appropriate actions to clarify the truth.
有鉴于此,作为同样入围决赛的选手,我们恳请组委会采取以下措施:
Therefore, as fellow finalists, we respectfully urge the committee to take the following actions:
1。在获得姜萍同学和王闰秋老师的许可后,向入围决赛的选手公开其预赛答卷,以供审阅。
Make public the submitted answers for the Qualifying Round by Jiang Ping and Wang Runqiu for examination, at least among the finalists, upon receiving their permissions.
2。由组委会成员和无利益冲突的第三方专家进行独立调查,并及时、公开公布调查结果。
Perform an independent investigation by committee members AND third-party experts with no conflicts of interest, and announce the investigation results to the public in a timely manner.
As the Final Round of the competition is scheduled for this Saturday, June 22nd, to avoid imposing any unnecessary pressures on Jiang Ping in her preparation for the Final Round, we will refrain from revealing this petition letter (and any response from you) to the public until the end of the Final Round.
再次感谢各位为组织这项比赛所做的努力,并期待组委会的及时答复。
Once again, we would like to express our gratitude for your efforts in organizing this competition, and we look forward to your prompt response to address these concerns.
(附件为参与请愿的决赛选手名单,按时间顺序排列)
(Please find attached the list of finalists joining the petition in chronological order)