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No.196

　

CHINA  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and Technology
People's Republic of China


N0.19６ Ａugust 20,1999
　
IN THIS ISSUE
  • Remarkable Progress for Governmental Websites
  • National Key Labs Become the Backbone of China's Basic Research
  • China Allocated RMB 600 Million to Recruit Overseas Scientists
  • Making Full Use of Chinese Traditional Medicine Resources
  • New Breakthrough for China’ s Underwater Acoustic Measurement
  • Major Breakthroughs for Tuberculosis Treatment
  • China's First Expedition Vessel in Arctic

    SPECIAL    ISSUES

Remarkable Progress for Governmental Websites

    Since the so-called “ Government On-line Project” was launched early this year, the websites under the names of government at different levels have increased from 145 last year to 1564 this year, of which 720 governmental agencies or departments have opened their on-line services to the society. It is expected that by the end of this year 60% of governmental agencies and departments will have registered their websites on the Internet.

    On January 22, 1999, China Telecom and Information Center of State Economy and Trade Commission joined their hands with information centers of other 40 governmental agencies to launch and implement
    “Government On-line Project” .

    Up to date, 35 governmental agencies have registered their websites on the Internet. They are Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Development and Planning Commission, State Economy and Trade Commission, People's Bank of China, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Information Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Health, State Birth Control Commission, Ministry of Railways, State Environmental Protection Bureau, State Foreign Exchanges Administration, State Broadcasting and Television Administration, State Administration Bureau of Industry and Commerce, State Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision, State Bureau of Intellectual Property Rights, State Bureau of Tourism, State Bureau of Statistics, General Customs, State Post Administration, State Bureau of Entry and Exit Quarantine and etc. In addition, 14 dedicated sectional information networks have also been established. Governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hebei, Fujian, Hubei and others have opened altogether 174 websites at provincial level and 467 websites at municipal level or below. Telecommunication authorities have opened 198 dedicated lines serving for the said on-line services.

    It is reported that major contents offered by governmental on-line services are: publicize governmental functions, terms of references, organizational composition, working procedures and relevant regulations; provide information through making governmental data, files and documents available on line; announce their daily activities so as to let the public learn about what governmental agencies are doing and treat the net as a way to publicize their work; establish document on-line center through which documents and certificates are made and transmitted through the network so as to improve the efficiency; and establish dedicated trading markets over the network.

    Some governmental agencies have made their services available to the public such as on-line settlement by People's Bank of China, Customs declaration by General Customs, foreign exchange verification system by State Foreign Exchange Administration, Red Shield Information Network providing industrial database by State Bureau of Industry and Commerce, on-line reservation system by State Bureau of Tourism, on-line education system and graduate employment information network by Ministry of Education, on-line hospitals by Ministry of Health, added-value taxation and examination system and electronic taxation system by State Taxation Administration, import and export quota and on-line license issuing system by Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, fake detecting system by State Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision, flood control information and announcement system by Ministry of Water Resources; earthquake monitoring network by State Seismological Bureau, publications and on-line newspapers by State News and Press Agency and employment information network by Ministry of Labor. In addition, there are some other services provided such as China prices information network, China legal advisor network, China 20,000 national defense research results and on-line governmental procurement.
    　

    National Key Labs Become the Backbone
    of China’ s Basic Research

    As disclosed at a mobilization meeting on evaluation of national key labs sponsored by Chinese National Natural Science Foundation, the Chinese Government had invested about RMB 1.4 billion in establishing 153 national key labs in the last decade. In addition, many other governmental agencies and local government have established their own open labs as well. These said labs have constituted the backbone of basic scientific research in the country through strengthening the existing disciplinary advantages, creating new research orientations and fields, accelerating training, and absorbing, selecting and stabilizing high-level scientific research personnel.

    National key labs have undertaken a great number of major basic research projects and contributed greatly to promoting basic research activities and even the whole S&T development in the country. Taking 1997 as an example, 153 national key labs had been involved in 457 national major S&T research projects, 326 projects of National 863 Program, 163 projects of Climbing Program, 1397 projects defined by National Natural Science Foundation and other 5871 projects assigned by governmental agencies and provincial government with a total budget of RMB 489 million. These national key labs have achieved a group of internationally or domestically advanced results in their research activities.

    National Key labs have gathered and nurtured a group of excellent talents and created conditions necessary for the shooting-out of a group of excellent young scientists, making them into academic leaders of high quality. Since 1994, 113 young scientists of national key labs have been granted with the financial support of National Excellent Young Scientists Fund, 26.4% of the total granted in the country. This year saw 126 young scientists from national key labs applying for the same Fund, 24.2% of the total.

    The blueprint of national key labs project is brewed, approved and organized for the implementation along with the in-depth development of China's opening and reform. National key labs are open to the participation of overseas scientists, receiving applications of research topics while encouraging personnel movement and international cooperation and exchanges. They have overcome difficulties caused by the so-called institutional ownership of scientific resources and the division of S&T management departments, sections and regions and made brave explorations in optimizing scientific resources on the basis of restructured S&T development system.

    China Allocated RMB 600 Million to
    Recruit Overseas Scientists

    Chinese Government has decided to allocate RMB 600 million to recruit 300 excellent young and middle-aged overseas scientists to work for Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the top research body in the country. It is said the budget is the largest of its kind in the country used for absorbing overseas talents.

    Bai Chunli, Vice President of CAS, said that each scientist recruited would be granted with RMB 2 million as research budget. They will engage in the projects under the national innovation program, which is mainly supported by CAS. He also briefed that the innovation projects cover 8 major fields including high tech in agriculture, population and health, information science and technology, energy, new materials and advanced manufacturing, space science and technology, and basic and major cross-disciplinary sciences.

    The recruitment will be targeted at overseas scientists aged between 30 and 40 with doctorate. Meanwhile, CAS will attract some domestic talents as well. Bai Chunli said CAS would struggle for more funds to improve the treatment of absorbed talents and would set up the so-called post subsidies and achievement compensation for the scientists with special achievements.

    Referring to major roles played by excellent scientists, an official from Ministry of Science and Technology pointed out that economic or high tech competition, to the final analysis, is the competition for talents. He suggested that a by-law on managing absorbed talents in line with international norms should be worked out to provide special treatment to “excellent” scientists.

    Earlier this year, the Chinese Government announced that it would invest RMB 5 billion at the end of 2000 to establish a national innovation system. This will provide strong technological back up for materializing sustainable development in the 21st century and make China’ s S&T competitiveness being among the top ten in the world by 2010.
    　 Making Full Use of Chinese Traditional Medicine Resources

    It is reported from the workshop on contemporary study and industrial development of Chinese traditional medicine held recently in Beijing that “contemporary study and industrial development of Chinese traditional medicine” has been listed as a major project on the priority list of China's 9th Five-Year Plan and will be soon kicked off.

    As briefed by authorities concerned, China is rich in its medically applicable plant resources with the species of Chinese traditional medicine reaching 12807. The statistics on 320 commonly used medical plants have shown that the total deposit in the country reached about 8.5 million tons. Affected by poor research and development capability in utilizing Chinese traditional medicine and unstable quality, the industrial development of Chinese traditional medicine has long lagged behind. To address the problem, National Coordinating Leading Group on New Drug Research and Development put forward
    “Action Plan for Modernized S&T Industries of Chinese Traditional Medicine” in 1996. Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has defined “contemporary study and industrial development of Chinese traditional medicine” as a major project on the priority list of China's 9th Five-Year plan and decided to kick off the project in the near future.

    It is briefed that the project led by Ministry of Science and Technology and co-sponsored by State Chinese Traditional Medicine Administration and State Pharmaceutics Administration will cover extensive contents including: during the 9th and 10th Five-Year Plan periods select and support in accordance with market demand a group of Chinese traditional medicine of proved treatment effects and stable quality to be studied so as to make the fine ones into the medical market of developed countries; establish qualified clinical experimental base for Chinese traditional medicine; establish a number of plantation bases for traditional medical herbs and associated S&T industrial bases; establish an internationally acknowledged standard system for research and development of traditional Chinese medicine; support and nurture a number of industrial groups internationally competitive for producing traditional Chinese medicine so as to increase China's share in international Chinese medicine market from current 5% to 15% and promote Chinese traditional medicine industry in the direction of becoming a pillar industry in the country.
    　
     

    RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

New Breakthrough for China's
Underwater Acoustic Measurement

    Thanks to their many years of painful efforts in the studies of large underwater infrastructures and shock and noise absorption of flying vehicles, investigators of Harbin Engineering University have at last solved the phase coincidence of multi-channel hydrophone in the process of system shock and noise absorption and other problems. On the basis of the said achievement, they have developed the underwater acoustic intensity and hologram measuring system, the first of its kind in the country.

    As briefed by Prof. Yang Desen, a leading investigator of the research team in Harbin Engineering University, China's first underwater acoustic intensity and hologram measuring system will be put into operation next year. The studies of the system and associated techniques have changed the long-standing pattern of underwater acoustic measuring through valuing acoustic pressure. The measurement of near field (limited area) acoustic wave intensity can not only give out the radiation power of acoustic source to determine the influence of the acoustic source on the acoustic area, but also tell its geological position through acoustic transmission direction, which makes obtaining accurate control position for shock and noise absorption possible. The said technique is of great importance to the development of China’ s national defense and marine resources.

Major Breakthroughs for Tuberculosis Treatment

    On July 6, 1999, “Study on Tuberculosis Hollow Treatment by Anti-tuberculosis Solution” accomplished by Wuhan Municipal Tuberculosis Hospital has passed the experts’ verification. The cure rate contributed by the said method has gone up from 60% to 90%. The technology, which is of advanced level in the country, is regarded as a major breakthrough for tuberculosis treatment.

    Tuberculosis patients for recurrent treatment usually develop strong resistance to medicine. In western countries it will only take USD 600 to have tuberculosis treated at an early stage. However, the recurrent treatment of the disease may cost USD 100,000 with long cycle and low curing rate. China has a tuberculosis population as many as 2 million and recurrent treatment has long been a difficult problem of doctors. Thanks to its 7-year studies and clinical experiments, Wuhan Municipal Tuberculosis Hospital has developed
    “No. 1 anti-tuberculosis solution” and directly applied it to the tubercle bacillus through fiberscope. “The accurate navigation treatment” has made the negative-turning rate go up to over 90%.
     

    NEWS BRIEFS

China’ s First Expedition Vessel in Arctic

    Having traveled into the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait,
    “Snow Dragon”, a Chinese expedition vessel carrying Chinese scientists for their first expedition in the region, entered the north polar region at 0:38 on July 14, 1999, (Beijing time) after crossing the Arctic circle at 66。33’ N. It is reported that this is the first time that the Chinese scientific expedition vessel has entered the Arctic Ocean and the North Polar area.

    Snow Dragon had traveled 14 hours after leaving Alaska, U.S.A., before its arrival in the Arctic, which is the second leg of the expedition.

    The Bering Strait, which is named after the adventurer, is a demarcation line dividing the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is also the borderline between Asian and North American continents.
     

    About 2 a.m., Snow Dragon crossed the Bering Strait at its narrowest gap with a clear view of Welsh Prince Angle sitting on north American continent on the right and some other islands on the left. This is the renowned “ continent bridge” connecting two continents. Thousands of years ago, people moved from one continent to the other by means of this “continent bridge”. Located in the continental shelf, the depth of seawater in the area is only several dozen meters deep.

    The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest one among the world four major oceans. Its 13.10 million km2 of water area is only about one fourteenth of that of the Pacific Ocean, 4.1% of the total marine area in the world, with an average depth of 1200m. The deepest cut of the Arctic Ocean is Nanson basin with the depth of 5449m.

           Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Dong Jianlong, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China  Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594, or Mr. Wang Jianping, Editor,NEWSLETTER, 15 Fuxing Road Beijing 100038, PR China, Tel:(8610) 68515544 Ext. 2921