Results tagged “science”

Despite the low pay, it seems that there's nothing that Chinese people admire more than their teachers. According to a recent survey by the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, teaching ranked as the most widely admired profession, followed by scientists and doctors. About 1,500 adults from ages 18 to 69 were polled in a survey about the most desirable jobs for the next generation. Thanks perhaps to all the news of corruption crackdowns, government official ranked only fourth on the list and trailed the top three by a long shot. Not mentioned was who exactly these 1,500 adults were - Urban professionals? Country farmers? Migrant workers? We would think that the various income levels would have all their own ideas of what they want for their children. Source: CRI English Photo from China Daily

A lot of folks on the Chinese Twitter clone Fanfou have been tweeting about an article regarding the Chinese Academy of Sciences' "blueprint" for China's development from now until the year 2050. Here's our very rough translation followed by a typically snide and cynical commentary.

• Common sense reigns as IOC ends worldwide torch relay [Yahoo! Sports] "The International Olympic Committee decided to end the globetrotting torch relay, discontinuing an event that began with the Athens Games in 2004 and was used again by the organizers of the Beijing Games this past August. For future games, the torch will only tour the country where the games are being hosted."
• China News: Ai Weiwei: Q&A On Earthquake Toll Accounting Efforts [China Digital Times (CDT)] "Artist, activist, and blogger Ai Weiwei is leading an effort to publish the names of those who died in the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. The action has invited responses from around the globe — and questions from those most nearby, in China. Netizens asked Ai questions ranging from his thoughts on tofu dregs construction to his feelings regarding social responsibility. Ai has responded to dozens of questions found on the posts entitled “做客天涯 (一)” and “做客天涯 (二).” Below is a selection of five of these questions and responses. Translated by CDT." (Blocked in China)
• Analysts dismiss 'cyber spy' claims [China Daily] "Top analysts yesterday refuted claims by researchers hired by the Dalai Lama that China runs a cyper spy network, branding them "exaggerated" and an attempt to paint the nation as a "threat". "This is purely another political issue that the West is trying to exaggerate," said Song Xiaojun, a Beijing-based strategy and military analyst."

• Advisor: Financial crisis not to affect success of 2010 Shanghai Expo [Xinhua] "The global financial crisis will have only limited impacts on the Shanghai World Expo 2010, an official with the organizers said here Sunday. Wan Jifei, vice director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee, pledged that the financial crisis would not affect the overall success of the Expo at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of China's political advisory body."
• The curious case of the disappearing TV drama [Danwei] "Looking at the headline numbers, 2008 was not a good year for TV drama producers in China. While TV drama production has grown by around 1,000 episodes annually every year since 2003, it actually dropped for the first time in five years in 2008."
• China's key sci-tech projects criticized for "retarded progress" [Xinhua] "China's major projects in its 15-year scientific and technological development program initiated in 2006 is progressing very slowly, a political advisor said here Sunday. The State Council, or Cabinet, approved the last major scientific and technological project late last year, he said. "It means we have spent one fifth of the time to start up the program." "

A Beijing clinic has apparently skipped all the controversy surrounding using stem cells and jumped right to marketing it as a way to rejuvenate your face.

Jonah Lehrer's piece in the Boston Globe got us thinking (or, at least, trying to think — our brain has been subject to Shanghai for six years now):

Her boyfriend told a doctor that her left ear cracked while they were kissing. The woman later found she couldn't hear anything with that ear.

In honor of Science and Environment Day today (Saturday), Sagevision and the Ruijin Community Cultural Center, are erecting a ‘Community Trash Art Mural’ in Fuxing Park. They aim to “create public awareness and interest regarding the impact of trash on the environment in China and the world.”

The CCP of course. As we enter day two of nasty April showers it's comforting to know someone's got our backs.

Next time, Steve, stay for some Grandma's Mashed Potatoes. Trust us.

Just off the northern edge of Fuxing Park, this unusual building was the original French Club (le Cercle Francais Sportif) circa 1904. Later it was moved what is now the Okura Garden Hotel (and much later moved to Cafe Montmartre). For a while this was the French Concession's most prestigious public high school, Le College Francais. You can still see the monogram 'CFS' cast into the wrought-iron railing of the main staircase. There's also some excellent stained-glass in the lobby, which we would have photographed if the security guard wasn't an ass doing his job.

So we know that scientists get paid peanuts in China, but there's hope yet: China Daily ran article about an amended national law which allows scientists to report failures.:

The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures during the process of innovation without harming their records in future funding applications.

Continue reading "China's scientists: Failing upwards since 2008"

We told you previously of China's great vision to be a "harmonious society" by 2020 — yes, that year when paradise will come to earth if nations around the world all accomplish their visions. Now, it looks like there is even a "harmonious ranking" to help us measure how "harmonious" we are, and it has been created by Shanghai's very own East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) [华东理工大学]. Out of a possible 100, Shanghai scored 84.97 points — the second highest among 30 domestic provincial capitals. Beijing topped the rankings, edging Shanghai to second spot with a score of 86.45 (Dang! Three cheers for Beijing!), but even harmonious Beijing is no match for Shenzhen which came in tops in a separate ranking for cities at 86.80 points.

The lead paragraph of a Calcutta Telegraph article reads:

China has outpaced India in science in two decades and acquired a staggering lead that keeps widening, the most comprehensive analysis yet of Indian and Chinese research has said.

Continue reading "India's China envy"

Excitement is palpable among the crowd as China launched its first lunar orbiter, the Chang'e One satellite (named after the goddess of the moon 嫦娥), half a century after the Russians became the first to set out to space.

"Son preference" is a deep-seated, widespread problem in many cultures, but in China, the problem takes on a frightfully larger scope when "son preference" meets the notorious One Child policy, says Michael Fragoso.

Li Yang (李阳) of the Shanghai-based Crazy English movement has been getting a lot of bad press lately, and Shanghai Daily's Wang Yanlin is the latest to chime in, with a hard-hitting piece slamming the self-styled English guru who believes that getting his students to yell out phrases after him combined with hand gestures is the best way to learn English. The media-savvy Li Yang is also a dynamic speaker on stage who clearly understands...

Two Italian soldiers kidnapped in Afghanistan were freed on Monday during a raid by NATO-led troops.

5. Contribute to the building of a harmonious society.

... and that is a conservative estimate, writes Bernie Leo of Shanghai Daily.

Starting 4:51pm today, Shanghaiist will set aside his blogging, crane his neck out the window, look heavenwards, and try to feel connected to the universe and discover his cosmic purpose. (And we invite you to put aside all the mundane affairs of daily life and join us in this spiritual exercise, wherever you are.) For that, according to the Shanghai Observatory, is exactly when the first phase of tonight's lunar eclipse will start. It is expected to last 3 hours and 33 minutes.

We recently read a report on China's water/environmental problems, based on reports from Singapore's Straits Times. Despite living in China and developing some measure of immunity to dismal statistics, there was one that managed to shock us: environmental experts claim that without some drastic change, pollution might, within five years, make the Yangtze River just about inhospitable to all forms of life. The baiji, or Yangtze river dolphin, was only the latest victim: according to the first report, in the 1980s there were 126 forms of life in the river, and by 2002, that figure was already down to 52.

Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU) has released its fifth annual Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) which saw American universities take eight of the top ten spots. Harvard University emerged right on top, followed by Stanford University and University of California-Berkeley. Britain's Oxford and Cambridge -- the only two non-American universities to make it to the top ten -- secured the fourth and tenth positions respectively. The top university in Asia was the University of Tokyo, edging in at the twentieth spot.

It's not been a good month for climbers in Sichuan Province. Ok, that's an understatement. It's been a damn awful month. At the beginning of July, the body of accomplished twice-climber-of-Everest Christine Feld-Boskoff was discovered on the remote mountain peak of Genyan Massif, half a year after the body of her partner in mountain-climbing was found (we told you how the two prominent mountain-climbers went missing here and here). Boskoff was believed to have died in an avalanche. Then, only days ago, government officials announced the discovery of Lonely Planet writer Andrew Clem Lindenmayer, found dead at Riwuqie Peak, 4,600 metres above sea level. And these are not Sichuan's only fatal findings – some simply only managed to make news footnotes, such as the uncovering of the body of a Japanese climber, who went missing 26 years ago.

Although Cirque du Soliel's Quidam opened a few weeks ago, Shanghaiist didn't get the chance to see the show until last night. Initially, we weren't exactly over the moon about seeing the Canadian troupe perform...to new age music...in tights...on one of our precious Friday nights. But, we were wrong. Insert foot into mouth here.

Briton Nick Young, founding editor and publisher of the China Development Brief (we're surprised this website is still up and running), has been ordered to shut down his politically-sensitive newsletter here and has been accused of 'conducting unauthorised surveys'. He also faces possible deportation and a 5-year ban from China.

The Chinese-made Brilliance BS6 sedan, currently being sold in the European market, splendidly failed a German 40mph frontal crash test. Reuters said:

"In the event of a side crash, the strain on the driver's chest and abdominal area would be so high that a person would have little chance of surviving in a real accident," it said of test results for the Brilliance BS6 model.

If you really want us to ruin your Saturday, check out a video of another car crash test of another Chinese car, the Chery Amulet We don't know much about the science of crash testing, but don't let that ruin the bone-crumpling visuals of this video. The video seems to be of Russian provenance, and when we looked it up, we found that the Chery Amulet is indeed sold in Russia and from the looks of it, has been for a couple of years. The China Daily reports that Chery is going to enter the US market in late 2007. Geely, another Chinese automaker and rival of Chery, is also set to make its debut in the US market in 2008 or 2009. That article has several quotes from Malcolm Bricklin, the man who brought the Yugo to the US and is now helping these Chinese automakers break into the US market. Bricklin said "he was willing and eager to help Geely succeed in the United States through his 50 years of experience in the auto industry.":

Continue reading "How to die a brilliant death! "

New York Yankees sign on first Chinese players.
The New York Yankees announced today that they have signed left-handed pitcher Kai Liu and catcher Zhenwang Zhang to minor league contracts, becoming the first Major League team to sign a player from the People's Republic of China with approval from the country's baseball association.

China Fines Six Banks for Lending to Stock Purchases

China's banking regulator fined six banks for making loans that were illegally invested in shares, the first sanctions announced after a yearlong investigation aimed at cooling speculation and curbing financial risks.

China’s growth sustainable

China’s double-digit economic growth remains sustainable with the rapid expansion expected to continue over the next few years, state media reported, citing a senior government advisor.

China Mobile eyes biggest ever Shanghai listing

China Mobile , the world's largest mobile phone operator, plans to raise more than $6 billion in a stock offer in Shanghai as early as next month that would be China's largest ever.

Microsoft will set up a SQL Server R&D Center in China

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced during his visit to China last month that his company would further expand its research and development institutes in Beijing and Shanghai.

Shanghai set to overtake Singapore as world`s busiest port

Shanghai is set to overtake Singapore as the world's busiest port in 2008 as the Chinese economy continues with its stellar growth, an executive of the city-state's port operator said in remarks published Monday.

Free dinosaur exhibition to open on July 10

Workers at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum today opened 59 cases containing more than 20 scarce dinosaur fossils from Zigong City, Sichuan Province, which will be exhibited at the museum for free from July 10 through August 31.

Shanghai's new height: 423.8 meters

The unfinished Shanghai World Financial Center eclipsed Jinmao Tower to become the tallest building on the Chinese mainland as it scraped the sky at 423.8 meters yesterday, exceeding Jinmao's 420.5 meters.

China's rural labor force shrinking fast

China will begin to feel the pain of labor shortages nationwide in the next couple of years - much earlier than previously forecast - as the country's seemingly ample supply of rural migrant workers dries up, say latest studies by state think-tanks.

China Confirms Demolition of Giant Buddha Statue At Tibetan Monastery

The Chinese authorities have acknowledged the 'removal' of a giant gold and copper plated statue of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) donated by Chinese Buddhists to Samye monastery in Tibet and demolished by Chinese People's Armed Police in mid-May.

Sudanese students flock to learn Chinese

Tong Xiaofeng, a Chinese professor at Khartoum University, says most of the Sudanese students in his class are motivated by money.

Taiwanese Upset at China's Policies

Many people in Taiwan are disappointed with the behaviour of the Chinese government, according to a poll by Taiwan Thinktank. 85 per cent of respondents think China’s efforts to exclude Taiwan from world bodies will affect two-way relations.

China's Alibaba plans HK IPO for $1 bln-report

Alibaba.com, China's biggest e-commerce company, will raise up to US$1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering this year, spurning the U.S. markets, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

Explaining the Vanishing Pirate

According to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, Chow Yun-fat's role in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie was censored for "for vilifying and defacing the Chinese and insulting Singapore."

Danone Executives Targeted In Shanghai Protest

Dozens of employees from Chinese beverage giant Wahaha descended upon a five-star hotel and office complex in one of the city’s richest districts last week to shout their wrath at Groupe Danone of France for its attempted takeover activities.

Wahaha workers protest Danone bid

Dozens of Wahaha employees took to the street yesterday shouting "Oppose Danone" and "Boycott Danone" to protest the alleged takeover bid by Groupe Danone SA of its Chinese partner Wahaha.

For more del.icio.us. links, visit the Shanghaiist Contribute page, which is updated throughout the day.
Photo by yunny.

Photo by Slow Boat to China taken from the Shanghaiist Contribute page.

Summer is here and everything is heating up. Leading up to this weekend, this is what Shanghaiist thinks is going to be hot today and tomorrow.