Yuan Longping, Wu Qing Awarded "Nobel Prize of Asia"Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping and woman activist Wu Qing have lately been awarded the "Magsaysay Prize", a prize named after the third Philippine president Ramon F. Magsaysay known as the "Nobel Prize of Asia".Yuan Longping, "father of Chinese hybrid rice" received the honor in the field of government service while Wu Qing, second daughter of Xie Bingxin (a late noted Chinese writer) and deputy-director of Beijing People's Congress, was granted public service award in woman activity field. Aged 71, Yuan Longping is a native of Hunan and graduated from Southwest Agricultural Institute in 1959, Yuan is now director of the state center for hybrid rice studies. The cross-bred rice he cultivated has yielded a produce of over trillion catty of grain in twenty years time and has been successfully proliferated in many Asian, African and American countries, a great scientific creation in solving the problem of world grain shortage. The 62-year-old Wu Qing is now professor of Beijing Foreign Languages Studies University. As a leader of Chinese woman movements she set up funds for woman education in rural areas. She is also one of the directors of international woman foundation. China's Liang Congjie, grandson of Liang Qichao, a noted Chinese men of letters, was granted public service award last year. By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng |
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