Academicians: Sticking to Scientific Materialism against Superstition and Pseudo-science ����399 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Engineering appeal to 10 million scientific and engineering practitioners in China to hold high the banner of scientific materialism, to take an active part in popularizing science. They said that it is their unshirkable duty to unveil the true feature of all superstitions and the wrong anti-science and pseudo-science ideas, to fight against all criminal acts against laws in China. ����The academicians are now holding a by-election in Beijing for members to the Academy in 1999. ����After hearing of the decisions by the CCP Central Committee on Falun Gong, they all expressed their strong support that they consider it as an important education of Marxist scientific materialism. ����They also vented their indignation over the evil deeds the Falun Gong organization has committed. They call on millions of engineering practitioners to stand against Falun Gong, superstitions, ignorance and other anti-science heresies in response to the government decisions. ����Song Jian, president of the Academy said that the Falun Gong event reminds us that all people working in science and technological field must hold high the banner of science, sticking to materialism to fight against idealism, superstition and pseudo-science, believing in atheism rather than theism. If we want to hold a position in future international contests, we must advocate science and abolish all blind faith so as to win a victory over all difficulties and evil forces. ����Wang Dianzuo, vice-president of the Academy said that science is an understanding and mastership by Men of the nature and social laws. It plays the role of lever and foundation stone in pushing forward historical progress. All science and technology workers should participate in science popularization work. By popularizing science is meant to spread not only scientific knowledge but also scientific spirit, scientific thought and scientific methods. We hav not made due efforts in this respect. ����Zhu Jianfeng, an expert in communication technology and management, believes that some social contradictions and personal difficulties can only be solved through Men's own effort other than relying on supernatural or super-material forces. For a Communist Party member, his attitude on the point is by itself a test to his belief on the Party's tenet. ����Shen Guofang is a forestry expert, he appeals for an active part by all engineering workers in popularizing scientific knowledge. The emphasis of education should be put on the vast rural areas to raise the science quality of the whole nation. ����Hou Yunde is an expert on medical virus, he said that pseudo-science such as Falun Gong employs concealed mental hint techniques to fool the ordinary people and undermine the integrity of our belief. It is totally impermissible. Scientific materialism holds the view that all substances in the world are cognizable. We should strengthen our study on scientific materialism. ����Some academicians also talk about the "Double Hundred" policies (Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend.) on scientific research. Explorations in the unknown fields and various scientific and technological areas should be advocated. Scientific study allows hypotheses on the basis of facts and allows failures. But playing trickery and practicing deception is forbidden. Any science hypothesis, before it is proved to be true, can not be promoted and spread as a scientific conclusion, not even to say to be used as a basis for state policy and law making. Such behavior violates the moral of science. So, in scientific research, materialism must be advocated and the moral level of scientific research should be raised to make the strategy of "rejuvenating China through developing science and education" on a more solid basis of materialism. HomeNews 1999-07-23 Page5 Full Story in Chinese