Result in Pushing Forward National Rejuvenation Through Science and Technology

This special report written by Our Staff Reporters Zhao Yongxin and Meng Xianli is about the "two sessions" at which NPC deputies and CPPCC members review achievements in science, technology and education over the past year. The report runs in part as follows:

Since the beginning of the year, education has become a hot topic of conversation to the concern of the whole nation. It is the general view of NPC deputies and CPPCC members that last year saw many major, joyous, practical and new things occurred in the scientific and educational fields, it was a year in which the strategy for reinvigorating the nation through science and education was really put into practice with fruitful results, from which people see the hope for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The CPC Central Committee and State Council Put Greater Emphasis on Rejuvenating the Nation Through Science and Technology

Taking a look at the major things related to science and technology occurred last year, people will find it easy to discover such a fact: the Party and State have paid unprecedented attention to revitalizing the nation by relying on science and technology, and the concept of such an effort for rejuvenation has gone deeper into the hearts of the people than ever before.

In rejuvenating the nation, the key lies in science and technology and the foundation is education, the two complement each other, and neither of them can be dispensed with.

At the two national meetings held one after the other last year, the battle drum beat for rejuvenating the nation through science and technology resounded throughout the vast land of China.

The first was the Third National Educational Working Conference held in Beijing in June 1999. At the opening ceremony of the meeting, General Secretary Jiang Zemin called on Party committees and governments at all levels to include education in the overall plan as a key point for strategic development and for the modernization drive, and to earnestly place education as a leading and basic work, that affects the overall situation, in the strategic position requiring priority development. This was followed by the convocation of the National Technological Innovation Meeting held in August. At the opening ceremony, General Secretary Jiang Zemin earnestly admonished comrades of the whole Party and people of the whole country, calling for comprehensively implementing the strategy for rejuvenating the nation through science and technology, giving a great impetus to technological progress, strengthening scientific and technological innovation, he added that this is a major matter concerning the prosperity and strength of the motherland and the reinvigoration of the nation.

As we look over the vast land of China, we find said strategy was being carried out in earl earnest last year:

Basic research experienced steady progress. While 15 projects were started in 1998, another 41 projects were launched last year, 53 chief scientists led members of the project group in advancing toward basic research that affects the national economy and people's livelihood. This has led to the unprecedented strengthening of the science popularization work.

On the basis of the enrollment of 220,000 students, an enlarged number of 330,000 students were enrolled early this year by institutions of higher learning, plus those adults sat for entrance exams for higher education, the total number of the enrolled approached 2.7 million.

In August, the Chinese government set up the National Science and Technology Highest Prize, the president of the State will issue a 5 million yuan money award to prize-winner (not exceeding two persons annually);

In October, the first China International High and New Technology Achievement Trade Fair, designed to promote economic and technological cooperation between China and various other countries around the world, was held in Shenzhen, with business volume exceeding 6 billion yuan on the first day;

Important progress was made in the revamping of bunkhouses, or tube-shaped apartments in institutions of higher learning, another large batch of teachers moved into new homes.;

The Ministry of Personnel, the State Development Planning Commission and the Ministry of Education decided to set a special target for the 1999-2000 period, under which 250,000 qualified teachers working at civilian-run schools will be turned into teachers to teach at publicly-run schools.

According to an authoritative report released late last year, the attendance rate of China's school-age children has increased from 97 percent in 1990 to 98.9 percent at present, the illiteracy rate among young and middle-aged people has gone down from 10.4 percent in 1990 to below 5.5 percent...

Major Breakthroughs Achieved in 1999 in the Reform of Science, Technology and Education Designed to Fundamentally Solve the Problem Arising From the Reform Being Divorced From the Economy

The Party Central Committee and the State Council actively pushed forward the supportive reforms in the systems of science, technology, education and economy in order to fundamentally solve the problem featuring the diorcement of science, technology and education from economy.

On July 1 last year, the 242 research institutes affiliated with the 10 State bureaus under the administration of the State Economic and Trade Commission all introduced the method of enterprise management, thus taking a substantive step in the reform of the scientific and technology system. At the beginning of this year, the Beijing Non-ferrous Metal Research General Institute was the first to bring back an enterprise legal person license from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, thus effecting the historic change from an institution to a scientific and technological enterprise.

Educational reform is also a must. In the face of the new situation, the contradiction featuring the unfitness of the thinking, system, structure, content and method of education with the need for the development of the socialist modernization drive has increasingly come to light. Premier Zhu Rongji pointed out that an accelerated educational development relies mainly on reform.

On March 2 last year, the Ministry of Education published the program for the reform of the entrance examination system for higher education institutions, striving to achieve breakthroughs in the subject, content, form and method of enrollment; at the same time, the Ministry of Education changed the traditional method for setting questions, beginning from 1999, it has canvassed from society test questions on the comprehensive ability for taking higher education entrance exam, language, mathematics and foreign languages, so as to enrich the content of test questions, and give better scientific expression to the ability and quality of the examinees;

The logistic reform in the institutions of higher learning, designed to break the "bottle neck" that restrains education development in the institutions of higher education, was crowned with motable results.

On January 19 this year, tens of thousands of students who failed in last year's entrance exams for institutions of higher learning, once again entered the classrooms for the first "spring entrance exams" in the educational history of New China. This fact marked the encouraging first step toward education of the general public from the education of the "elite";

Thereafter, the cry for "untying" primary and middle school students evoked strong repercussions from the whole society. Along with the deepening of this work, children throughout the country will be liberated from their heavy burden of school work.

Seizing the Opportunity and Forging Ahead Despite Difficulties, Actively Pushing Forward Various Reforms, So as to Give Play to the Due Role of the Strategy of National Rejuvenation Through Science and Technology

In the opinion of the NPC deputies and CPPCC members, while seeing the challenge and inadequate understanding, we should also notice the rare opportunity. The firm determination of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to implement the aforesaid strategy and their correct policies adopted for this purpose, the fervent desire of the people of the whole country for them to get rich through science and technology and the country to become strong through knowledge, as well as the drastic readjustment of the industrial and agricultural structures now under way nationwide, the technological renovation of enterprises, the on-going large-scale development of the Western region, the further opening to the outside world and the approaching of China's projected entry into the WTO-all these have provided unlimited objective demand and inexhaustible internal motive force as well as a favorable external environment for implementation of the strategy for national rejuvenation through science and technology.

NPC deputies and CPPCC members said that at present it is necessary to actively support the already restructured research institutes to realize the goal of operating in the way of enterprise management; to expedite the construction of university science and technology gardens, to give full play to the talent and knowledge superiority of universities, so that they can become the hatching base of high-tech enterprises, the training base of sci-tech entrepreneurs, high and new technology R&D base; it is essential to carry out the work of reducing the burden of primary and middle school students to the letter, earnestly do a good job in quality-oriented education including morality education; it is imperative to quicken the reform of socializing logistic work in universities and colleges, so that they can absorb more students....

Although there will still be many contradictions requiring solutions and many difficulties to be overcome in the process of advance, so long as we forge ahead despite difficulties and earnestly implement related Party policies, the strategy for national rejuvenation through science and education can be accomplished by creating new brilliant achievements.

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