More than 800 people gathered at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday to celebrate China Daily’s 30-year journey from an eight-page black/white newspaper to a global media group with 12 publications and audiences in Asia, Europe and North America.
From retired journalists in their 80s and heads of major news organizations to dignitaries from Party and government departments, the participants also marked the national English-language newspaper’s new voyage of development into a leading international multimedia group.
“China Daily – as an important medium of China’s international communication – has become the window for China to know the world and for the world to understand China,” Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, wrote in his congratulatory letter.
“While highlighting China’s determination for peaceful development, China Daily also needs to help promote China’s vision of a harmonious world with long-lasting peace and shared prosperity,” Li added in his letter, which was read at Tuesday’s event.
Other leaders of the Party and government departments focused on the challenges China Daily faces as advances in information technology have created multiple news delivery platforms.
“In the face of serious media competition and increased audience selectivity, China Daily needs to come up with more innovative content and formats to maintain its competitive edge and win audiences,” Liu Yunshan, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committee’s Publicity Department, said in a keynote speech.
“In keeping up with advances in information technology, China Daily needs to transform its traditional mode of communication with the latest technology, actively promote new media and provide services using the Internet and mobile devices,” Liu said.
In his address, Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, highlighted the necessity “to reduce international misunderstanding and misconception over China’s rise”.
“China Daily needs to embrace the latest trends at home and abroad, reflect international public opinion, and sharpen its coverage of domestic and global events of great importance,” Wang said.
Retracing China Daily’s journey since its first official issue rolled off the presses on June 1, 1981, Zhu Ling, China Daily’s editor-in-chief, not only summarized the paper’s past achievements but also emphasized that the celebration of its 30th birthday marks “a starting point” to build it into a “top-notch international all-media group”.
China Daily “must recognize the increasing integration of the Internet and the traditional media, hasten its own strategic transformation and narrow the gap with leading international news media”, Zhu said.
China Daily is building a comprehensive network to gather news and information, and will also boost production and delivery, enabling it to reach a global audience via a range of media channels that will enhance interaction with readers, Zhu said.
China Daily must be able to keep pace with advances in information technology and remain a pioneer in communicating via the new media, Zhu said.
Along with the official keynote speeches were personal reflections.
Bill Gaspard, China Daily’s design director and one of the more than 70 expat journalists at the paper, told of the brief panic he experienced on arrival that soon gave way to a feeling of familiarity when he entered the newsroom.
“My first day at work I spoke with a top editor about the mission of China Daily – to bring the story of China to the world and to bring the world’s story to China,” Gaspard recalled.
He spoke about how important it was – in such a complex, fast-moving world – to break down stereotypes, dissipate the mistrust between people and to promote mutual understanding. “That mission resonates with us as we push to improve the professional standards of China Daily. And those standards have improved substantially, along with the reach of the paper,” Gaspard said.
“Birthdays are for wishes and mine for China Daily are that it continues to reach for new heights and helps to bridge the divide between our view of the past and our understanding of the future,” he said.
Retired editor, Wu Jingshu, 85, recalled the days when he worked on the trial issues of a 4-page broadsheet.
A representative of journalists from a younger generation, Tan Yingzi, China Daily’s chief Washington correspondent, shared her experiences.
Congratulatory messages, meanwhile, poured in from across the world.
“It is my pleasure to congratulate China Daily on its achievements over the three decades as China’s official English-language newspaper – a significant milestone,” Julia Gillard, prime minister of Australia, wrote.
http://english.eastday.com/e/110601/u1a5920254.html
China poised to top US in science by 2013
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-29 18:02
hina may surpass the United States as the global leader in scientific output by as early as 2013, thanks to huge investments in research and development (R&D) and education, says a new study conducted by the Royal Society, the UK’s national science academy.
Related: China set to be top economy by 2030
Analysis of published research indicates that Chinese science has made rapid strides in recent years going by the number of papers published in the recognized international journals listed by the Scopus service of publishers Elsevier.
In 1996, the US published 292,513 papers – more than 10 times China’s 25,474. By 2008, the US total had increased slightly to 316,317 while China reported a more than seven-fold increase to 184,080, says the BBC.
The US still leads the world, but its share of global authorship has fallen to 21 percent from 26 percent, the Royal Society found after analyzing the share of the world’s authorship of scientific research papers between the periods 1993-2003 and 2004-2008.
During the same period, the share of China rose to 10.2 percent from 4.4 percent, and its ranking improved from sixth to second place. Britain has remained relatively stable and is currently ranked third.
Earlier estimates had indicated that China might surpass the US sometime after 2020. But the Royal Society has now made a bolder forecast in its study entitled Knowledge, Networks and Nations.
“A simple linear interpretation of Elsevier’s publishing data suggests that this could take place as early as 2013,” it says.
“China has heavily increased its investment in R&D, with spending growing by 20% per year since 1999 to reach over US$100 billion a year today (or 1.44% of GDP in 2007), in pursuit of its goal of spending 2.5% of GDP on R&D in 2020.”
China is also turning out huge numbers of science and engineering graduates, with nearly 1.5 million leaving its universities in 2006, said the study.
However, the surge in the volume of research publications does not necessarily mean an increase in quality, which is often evaluated by citations, the report pointed out.
Although China has risen in the “citation” rankings, its performance on this measure lags behind its investment and publication rate, said the study.
“It will take some time for the absolute output of emerging nations to challenge the rate at which this research is referenced by the international scientific community.”
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-03/29/content_12246215.htm
Driven by the notion that a constantly increasing rate of economic growth is the overriding marker of a successful society, developing or purchasing more advanced technologies has become fundamental to fulfilling this aim. And with the array of new tools at our disposal, we have been able to reach further, deeper and higher into every imaginable ecosystem and exploit more effectively every possible resource. History indicates that most engineers or scientists side with the vested interests of the day, and it is also apparent that each generation of innovators has failed to consider the contraindications or long-term consequences of their technologies. Spare a thought for the generation 50 years hence and what it may have to deal with because of today’s scientists who are forging ahead with genetic engineering. After well over a century of this developmental model, it is now difficult to argue that the world’s natural systems – so vital for our survival – are not faltering.
LEARN FROM NATURE 