China revises law to boost science popularization

A visitor tries a VR parachute at an exhibition on aerospace in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, April 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Hu Jingwen)

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-two years since its enactment, China's Science and Technology Popularization Law was revised for the first time on Wednesday amid the country's rapid advancements in high-tech fields.

Yin Hejun, minister of science and technology, said revising the law was imperative as China currently faces several challenges in science popularization, such as insufficient recognition of its significance, a lack of initiative, and an inadequate supply of quality science communication products and services.

National lawmaker Zhong Zhihua said, "The revised law will drive innovation in science popularization, enabling it to promote social progress alongside technological innovation."

The revision comes just in time, as China is striving to become a leading country in science and technology by 2035, experts said.

The revised law highlights the vital role of science popularization, explicitly stating that the country places it on par with technological innovation in terms of importance.

"It is great news for us science popularizers," said Hu Yang, a physician with Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital. "This is a strong affirmation of the importance of science popularization."

Hu has been engaged in online medical science knowledge publicity for seven years, publishing over 5,000 articles and videos. He believes that medical science popularization helps the public understand medical knowledge, while medical research provides the scientific foundation for popularization.

In 2003, the China Association for Science and Technology launched a nationwide series of science popularization activities, with such campaigns held 22 times since then. Over 200,000 activities were held across the country in September this year.

To institutionalize this approach, the law designates September as the annual national science popularization month.

Wang Ting, head of the China Research Institute for Science Popularization, said that this revision will help integrate science popularization activities into the public's daily life, as well as into school curricula, as September is the start of the new school year.

The revised law adds a new chapter on "science popularization activities," which encourages innovation entities to engage in the dissemination of new technologies and knowledge, while also specifying the need to strengthen the review, monitoring and evaluation of popularization efforts.

"The more cutting-edge the technology, the more attention must be paid to its potential negative impacts," said Peng Chunyan, a researcher at a talent service center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, emphasizing the need for timely and accurate publicity on new technologies and knowledge.

Another new chapter of the law -- "science popularization personnel" -- focuses on cultivating professional science popularizers by improving assessment and incentive mechanisms. The country now has nearly 2 million science popularizers and 4.56 million registered sci-tech volunteers.

"I support the new chapter. It will attract more talent to the cause of science popularization," said Ji Shaoting, founder of the Future Affairs Administration, a sci-fi cultural company.

Ji called for more supporting policies and systems for the law, saying that it is necessary to advance the education and training for science popularization professionals to improve their publicity skills.

She also expressed a wish for more job opportunities. "Sustained income is essential to ensuring long-term science popularization efforts," she said.