Researcher resorts to crowdfunding after being refused by gov’t entities

Leong Chi Man

A young local researcher has admitted that he had to resort to crowdfunding after being refused by two government entities when requesting funds for his research.

As the Times reported earlier, Leong Chi Man, a masters student at Taiwan National University, along with two other researchers, wrote the study “Lost in the city: discovery of the rare ant genus Leptanilla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Macau with description of Leptanilla macauensis.” The name Leptanilla macauensis has been approved by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

Leong was in Macau recently and had tried to approach two government entities – which he refused to name – to request funding. Speaking to the Times, Leong said that he was turned down, as he did not meet the entities’ requirements.

“I have requested funds from the government but they replied saying that they do not have the funds to support my project because I did not pass their requirements,” he said.

“Maybe they cannot support independent researchers or they just do not want to support me because they are cooperating with mainland researchers,” said Leong.

Since the young researcher is keen on continuing his research with insects, particularly ants, Leong looked to acquiring financial assistance through Experiment – a crowdfunding platform for scientific research.

“Many people want to support my project because they know that the government will not support my project, even though I will contribute to their territory,” said Leong.

According to him, 95 percent of the donors are local residents.

The crowdfunding, which will end in ten days, has acquired USD6,538 – significantly more than its original target of USD3,800.

“I will keep going and publish many discoveries to pursue the government to support my research this time,” the researcher said.

“I don’t want to give up because nobody cares about insects in Macau, because they don’t know any endemic species,” he added.

Meanwhile, Leong is still calling on the government to enable him to conduct his research by providing financial assistance.

He stressed that a research grant would significantly assist him in advancing his biological research, adding that he does not want to conduct another crowdfunding venture in the future.
“I don’t want to stop because we have many extraordinary results waiting for us. I want to tell the citizens that we have [endemic species] in Macau,” he said. LV