Science for a harmonious society

With all of the talk of businesses from the West rushing to build new R&D centres, and push up the wages of China's scientific talent, it is refreshing to have a reminder of the old days. Lu Yongxiang, President  of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has been spelling out the underlying philosophy of the country's science and technology (S&T) policy.

 

A press release on CAS quotes something he wrote recently for the journal Jiushi. As the release puts it, Lu's message is that "China's S&T community must, with a high sense of mission and responsibility, strive to put into practice the scientific outlook toward development in an all-round manner, work energetically to promote the country's S&T undertakings, and use S&T innovations to help build a harmonious society under socialism."

 

Then again. later on Lu makes noises that he could easily have borrowed from something put into the mouth of Tony Blair in the UK. "Science and technology now are of key importance to attainment of sustainable social development. S&T strength constitutes the core factor in the overall competitiveness of a country, the factor that decides its international status."