Information/Technology - 91. page

On November 23 and 24, Liu Yandong, a member of the Politburo and the State Council, presided over a meeting to implement the 2009 Major National Science and Technology Projects. Liu emphasized carrying out the “latest requirements” of the Party and State Council in the fields of science and technology, with a focus on assuring national security, leading the world with a roadmap of R&D, expediting innovations in key areas, and fostering new strategic industries. 

Liu said the Major Projects are based on forward-looking strategic decision made by the Party and the State Council. Comprehensive implementation is underway. 

Source: Xinhua, November 25, 2009 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/25/content_12539105.htm

At the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region bureau of People’s Daily on November 9, the state newspaper’s president Zhang Yannong emphasized the importance of reporting on Hong Kong and predicted the paper’s grand overseas expansion. Two days later, People’s Daily launched its Macao branch.

Source: Xinhua, September 9 and 11, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/gangao/2009-11/09/content_12419673.htm
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/10360293.html

China will launch its own space station in 2020, says chief scientist of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. According to the plan, in 2010 China will launch a small space laboratory module called "Tiangong 1" with two separate cabins for a lab and resources. Then, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft will be launched to dock with Tiangong 1. In 2015 Tiangong 2 and 3 will be launched, leading ultimately to the launch in 2020, Tiangong, China’s own space station. The scientist also confirmed that China is building a new lunar launch site at Wenchang City, Hainan Province, because the Long March 5 rocket to launch the lunar probe will be 5 meters in diameter and can only be transported via waterways.

Source: Chengdu Evening News, November 11, 2009
http://www.cdwb.com.cn/html/2009-11/11/content_741526.htm

China unveiled its fastest supercomputer yesterday, known as a petaflop. At its peak speed, it can do more than one quadrillion calculations per second.

The birth of the supercomputer, named "Tianhe," which means "Milky Way," makes China the second country, after the United States, to build a petaflop computer. This gigantic device can do as many calculations in one day as those done by an ordinary dual-core personal computer in 160 years, said Li Nan, director of the Tianhe Project Office under the National University of Defense Technology, developer of the supercomputer.

The supercomputer has many practical applications, and will be used in seismic data processing, for oil exploration, bio-medical research, development of aerospace vehicles, long-term weather and climate forecasting, financial data analysis and pollution control in the Bohai Sea area.

Source: People’s Daily, October 29, 2009
http://scitech.people.com.cn/GB/25509/10280952.html

In a keynote speech to a group of scientists, Premier Wen Jiabao said that China’s science and technology “will surely support and lead the country toward its grand goal of modernization.”

Quotations from Wen’s speech:

“History tells us that science and technology determine a nation’s prosperity and a country’s fate.”

“The world is experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis in this century. Those who can lead the technological innovation will be able to grasp the initiative in development and be the first to recover and prosper. In response to this international financial crisis, the world’s countries are competing with each other to dominate in the economy and technologies. The world will enter an unprecedented era of innovation-intensive and industrial revitalization. We must strive to grow in this competition by leaps and bounds.”

Wen stressed the research in energy, sensor network, microelectronics, optoelectronic materials, nanotechnology, life science, space and ocean exploration.

Source: Xinhua, November 3, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/03/content_12377681.htm

According to Study Times, news media are not only the mouthpiece of the Party but also the Party’s eyes and ears. If what media present are all good news, the CCP Central Committee will be deaf and blind.

For a long time, the opaque information has “taught” the people that the news from the government controlled media has no credibility. In many places, "maintaining social stability" equals "Maintaining stability in newspapers (or on the TV screen)." With the development and popularity of the Internet, SMS and other new communication technologies, the limits of this self-deceiving way of covering up can be seen.

Open and transparent public information can not fundamentally solve any problems, but can discover and diagnose the problems. It can also ease people’s discontent.

Source: Study Times, November 2, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=0&id=3028&bid=12

Zhang Xiangmu, Director of the Department of Industry Equipment, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology outlined five areas where China has to develop its equipment production industry further, Xinhua reported. The five areas are regulation, technology improvement, self-sufficiency in technology and equipment, the thrust into mergers and acquisitions, and new industry development. At present the targets for establishing new industries are energy-savings and new energy sources for automobiles, oceanic engineering equipment, general aircraft and regional aircraft, high-speed rail system equipment, and high-performance ship sectors.

Source: Xinhua, October 27, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2009-10/27/content_12342093.htm

On October 17, the 42nd Annual Conference of World Association of Newspapers (WAN) concluded in Chongqing. Wang Guoqing, the Division Chief of Newspapers and Periodicals at General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) of China, said that the mainland newspapers and periodicals’ landing overseas and cooperating with international media expanded the global influences of Chinese newspapers and Chinese culture.

At present, more than 60 periodicals from mainland China have copyright cooperation with international partners, with some publications landing outside China, including the China National Geography and ChinaNews magazine. The latter belongs to the official news agency China News Service (CNS).

Source: China News Service, October 18, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/10-18/1916255.shtml