BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Ministry of Education spokesperson on Friday said no academic misconduct would be tolerated, vowing firm actions in identifying and investigating such acts.

Xu Mei made the remarks while commenting on the suspected academic misconduct by Zhai Tianlin, a 32-year-old Chinese actor, who has a Ph.D. from the Beijing Film Academy and is a postdoctoral candidate at the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. He has been accused of plagiarism over his doctoral research papers.

"The education ministry's stand on academic misconduct remains consistent, which is zero tolerance," Xu said, stressing that there is no place for actions of defying academic rules and undermining educational equity.

"I believe that the authorities concerned will continue investigations into the issue seriously, handle it in accordance with the law and rules, and make public progress in a timely manner," she added.

Both the Beijing Film Academy and the Peking University's Guanghua School of Management have launched investigations into the issue while Beijing municipal education authorities, as well as disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies, have also started supervision procedures.

In an apology letter posted online, Zhai said he was deeply sorry to the schools, teachers and the public for being dishonest.