A wider research base and facilities to allow swifter scientific
advances in public health and safety will become cornerstones of
China's scientific drive, a Ministry of Science and Technology
source revealed yesterday.
The ongoing SARS disaster has accentuated the problems in the
State's existing scientific system, highlighting the nation's
limited research database, its outdated laboratory facilities and
the equipment used within them, according to ministry
Secretary-General Shi Dinghuan.
Some scientists from the Key Science and Technology Group under the
National Task Force for SARS Prevention and Control, who are
involved in studying the flu-like virus, have complained that
investment in public health in China is insufficient.
"Conditions for clinical trials have long been relatively poor,
posing difficulties for doctors to experiment on new drugs and
treatment methods," said Zhu Yuanyu, a professor with Beijing Union
Medical College Hospital.
Drawing lessons from the SARS attack, Shi said comprehensive health
and medical studies are absolutely necessary in future national
plans, to keep sustainable economic development and people's health
in harmony.
To
set a course for China's scientific drive over the next two
decades, the ministry will invite experts from the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, the National Development and Reform
Commission and the Ministry of Education to contribute strategic
and scientific information.
By
logging on to its www.most.gov.cn
website, members of the public will soon be able to search ministry
documents related to the long-term scientific plan and voice their
opinions, guaranteeing a democratic decision-making process, Shi
said.
In
another development, the ministries of education, and science and
technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of
Engineering and the National Funding Committee for Natural Sciences
have jointly circulated the Stipulation for Improving Evaluation on
Technological Findings.
It
aims to ensure down-to-earth academic studies and avoid profit or
fame-driven work, as well as boastful remarks such as
"world-advanced" or "domestic leader."
(China Daily June 6, 2003)