China Science & Technology Digest:
February 1-29, 2004
ATIP
This digest summarizes S&T-related articles that appeared in the media ATIP monitored in February 2004. Some articles reference a relevant website to assist readers in obtaining further information. For questions or to request additional information, please send email to ChinaST@atip.or.jp. The exchange rate used for this issue is RMB8.287 against the U.S. dollar.
China Begins Work on Satellite to Orbit Moon by 2007
China has begun the first phase of its lunar probe program with funding of 1.4 billion Yuan (approx. 170 million US dollars). The satellite program will be followed by the landing of an unmanned vehicle on the Moon in the second stage by 2010 and the collection of samples of lunar soil with an unmanned vehicle by 2020. The satellite will obtain three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, analyze the content of useful elements and materials, and probe the depth of the lunar soil and the space environment between the Earth and the Moon.
Source: People's Daily 02/13/2004
China Develops RT-PCR Method to Detect Bird Flu Virus in Four Hours
China has developed a method to test for the bird flu virus in four hours. The new method of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was jointly developed by the Beijing Administration for Entry-and-Exit Inspection and Quarantine and a company in Shenzhen, South Guangdong Province. The internationally-accepted detection method recommended by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) takes 21 days to detect bird flu virus.
Source: China Daily 02/14/2004
Southern Chinese University Accelerates Vaccine Production
The Guangzhou-based South China Agricultural University is to produce 400,000 bottles of vaccine against the deadly bird flu virus in half a month. The vaccines will be injected into about 100 million fowl in Guangdong to prevent them from being infected with bird flu. The South China Agricultural University is one of the two designated producers of the vaccine against bird flu in the country. The Guangdong provincial government will input 5 million Yuan (approx USD 602,000) to support research on the disease by the University.
Source: People's Daily 02/09/2004
Human-Use H5N1 Vaccine to Be Produced in Six Months
China may begin to produce human-use H5N1 (Influenza A) vaccine after six months. However, it is said that even if the vaccine is produced, it does not mean a 100 percent prevention rate; according to statistics from the United States, the chances for human-use vaccine to control virus averages 56 percent.
Source: People's Daily 02/05/2004
HK & Shenzhen to Cooperate on IC Development
The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has signed a three-year cooperative agreement with the National IC Design Industrial Base (Shenzhen) Institution. Under this agreement, the HKSTP will provide small batch and finished product testing services to the National IC Design Industrial Base (Shenzhen) Institution while its IC Design/Development Support Center will provide material analysis and IC fault analysis. Shenzhen will assist the HKSTP in promoting its platform for test verification services.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/12/2004
Shanghai Makes Breakthrough in Livestock Raising
Scientists in Shanghai have developed a microbe feed addictive, which will help enhance animals' immunity. Adopting 12 microorganisms that are authorized for use by the Ministry of Agriculture, the feed addictive will help form nutrition in livestocks after being swallowed down with feed. Research indicates a pig will grow an average 11.2 percent more in weight everyday after being applied the addictive, while cases of diarrhea plunged 90 percent.
Source: Shanghai Daily 02/12/2004
Device Developed to Locate Survivors Trapped by Accidents
China has developed and produced its own set of devices for searching for living people trapped in buildings toppled by earthquakes and landslides. The devices are composed of an optical instrument, a sound pulsator, and an infrared thermal imaging system. The detector has a maximum rotating angle of 127 degrees and can be connected to an adjustable pole which is capable of going eight meters into the rubble. The sound and pictures shot by the detector can be transmitted to a palm computer.
Statistics showed earthquake victims can live for as long as 72 hours in debris. With prompt detection, the number of deaths from earthquakes could be significantly reduced.
Source: China Daily 02/11/2004
International Biotechnology Symposium to Be Held in Beijing in July
An international symposium on biotechnology is to be held from July 18 to 23, 2004 in Beijing. The 10th International Symposium of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA) will be sponsored by the CAS, the SCBA, Beijing University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. With the theme "Science for a Better Life", the symposium is expected to promote global collaboration on genomics and biotechnology. The symposium's website is: http://www.scba2004.org.cn.
Source: People's Daily 02/03/2004
APEC Workshop on Sci-Tech Intermediary Mechanisms Held in Beijing
More than 100 officials and experts from 13 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries attended a workshop on science and technology intermediary mechanisms in Beijing on February 9 and 10. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology, sponsored the workshop, focusing on governments' role in promoting intermediary organs, related policies, information sharing systems, and international cooperation in the field.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/09/2004
China Plans to Send Two People into Space in 2005
China plans to send two astronauts into space on a five-to-seven-day mission in 2005 and later build a space station. Shenzhou VII and Shenzhou VIII will carry out spacewalks, make space dockings, and establish a space laboratory. China's team of 14 trained astronauts, including Yang, has been divided into in seven pairs to train for the next mission, and three of the pairs will be finalists to fly. New astronauts will begin to be trained, as the current astronauts are all over the age of 30.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/22/2004
Shenzhou VI to Fly Five to Seven Days in Space
Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space flight to be launched next year, is scheduled to fly for five to seven days. Two astronauts are expected to fly in Shenzhou VI. They will step into the orbital module and conduct various types of experiments there. A Long March II F carrier rocket will launch the space flight.
Source: People's Daily 02/23/2004
China to Stage International Seminar on Space Law and Technology
An international seminar on space law and technology will be held in Beijing from April 25 to 27 to discuss issues such as plans by Asian countries to enact space laws and policies, applications of the global satellite navigation system, and outer space remote sensing and telecommunications; concerning international space law and the development and commercial use of space technology. The meeting is to be held at the Chinese Institute of Space Law. Experts from the United States, China, France, Germany, Japan, Britain, India, and some other countries are expected to attend.
Source: People's Daily 02/22/2004
Chinese Scientists Receive National Awards
Liu Dongsheng, a geologist and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Wang Yongzhi, the chief designer of China's manned space project and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, won the 5-million-yuan (approx. 604,500 US dollars) State Preeminent Science and Technology Award for 2003. Wang has been the chief designer of China's manned space program since 1992. Liu Dongsheng is one of the eminent pioneers in China's geographic environmental research, especially research on loess.
China annually presents five state science and technology awards, namely, the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Invention Award, the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, and the International Scientific and Technological Award. Established in 2000, the awards are granted to two persons at the most every year.
Source: People's Daily 02/20/2004
Genetic Map of Bird Flu Virus Completed
Chinese experts have now completed the genetic map of the killer H5N1 bird flu virus. Their next step will be to look at how the virus mutates. The mapping result was achieved by an avian disease research laboratory at the South China Agricultural University.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/25/2004
Air-Purifying Machine to Kill SARS Virus Approved
A Shenzhen-based optical company has developed a new type of air-purifying machine that can successfully kill the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus. The Xinjiashi brand machine is 99 to 99.68 percent effective in eliminating the SARS virus, according to results of a one-month test by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health.
Source: People's Daily 02/19/2004
Inter-Network SMS Beginning in March
The Chinese government has decided to allow inter-network SMS (Short Messaging Service). Beginning in March, users will be able to send messages from fixed phones to 268 million Chinese mobile phone users—the largest mobile phone subscriber base in the world—and vise versa. The explosive growth in spending on mobile short messages gave fixed-line operators a nudge to offer their own message service. Users of China Mobile sent 40.7 billion messages in the first six months of last year, 3.2 times higher than 2002. During the Spring Festival this year, Chinese mobile phone users sent about 10 billion messages.
Source: Shanghai Daily news 02/23/2004
China IT Giant Adopts New Company Structure
The Legend Group, China's largest IT enterprise, has drastically reorganized its company structure, replacing the old six-sector structure—corporate IT, consumer IT, handheld devices, IT Service, contract manufacturing, and the Internet with the following three structures: marketing, operations, and R&D, all focusing on the PC market. This coincides with a change in corporate strategy from great expansion in the last three-year plan to strategic business scope shrinkage in the current three-year plan.
Source: People's Daily 02/21/2004
China Telecom More Than Doubles Broadband Internet Users
China Telecom signed up another 4.84 million clients to its broadband Internet services in 2004. The China Telecom Group, China's largest fixed-line operator, has 7.35 million clients using its broadband Internet services across the country. China Telecom has increased its broadband subscribers ten fold in two years. China Telecom mainly uses ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber lines) technology in its broadband Internet services.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/23/2004
Domestic Cell Phone Producer Announces 3G Plan
Konka announced that it would invest 500 million yuan (approx. 60 million US dollars) in building a factory to produce 3G mobile phones with high quality built-in cameras. Telephone samples will be available from mid 2005 and the factory will be in full-scale production in 2006.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/24/2004
HK & Mainland Establish China Brain Bank
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Central South University are planning to join efforts to build the China Brain Bank. Data collections from the brain bank will be accompanied by detailed medical history or psychological profile of the patient, or a research-based prospective psychometric or psychiatric profiling of the donors. The Brain Bank will be located at the Xiangya Medical School of the Central South University and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong.
Source: People's Daily 02/20/2004
Electric Cars: China's Hope to Catch up with Advanced Auto Makers
41 domestic and overseas automobile manufacturers attended a five-day fair held on Hainan Island on February 20 to 25 and exhibited over 100 kinds of environmentally-friendly cars. Electrically-powered automobiles are also supposed to be among the types of cars that will be shown at the Beijing Olympic Games, to be held in 2008. Electrically-powered and internal combustion engine-cum-electric buses are already being tested in major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Wuhan.
Source: Xinhuanews Agency 02/20/2004
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