Day: September 2, 2019

(Peoples Daily Online)17:10, July 17, 2019

(Photo/Hong Kong International Airport)

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is now accelerating the application of 5G technologies to build a more intelligent airport, as part of the regions ambition to create a smart city.

The Hong Kong International Airport is preparing for the construction of 5G base stations to build a 5G network.

The airport has increased the number of areas covered by a high-speed Wi-Fi network from 15 to 30. The network speed could reach 400 megabits per second. With the 5G network coming soon, the airport will provide a high-quality network experience for passengers.

The airport has introduced a facial-recognition system launched by mobile payment giant Alipay at the duty-free store. It has applied a real-time detection system that can automatically identify and remove foreign objects on runways. A full runway check takes just 2 minutes, with an accuracy rating of 95 percent.

Last year, the airports annual passenger and freight transportation volume reached a record high. The airport was recognized as Global Airport of the Year by Air Transport World, a magazine focused on the global air transportation industry.

Airport authorities are determined to adopt advanced technologies to manage the airport more efficiently and bring convenience to passengers, said an official with the HKSAR transportation bureau.

The airport is currently testing unmanned cargo and baggage cars. Once applied, the innovation will significantly improve transportation efficiency.

(Xinhua)07:48, July 18, 2019

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) — Beijing has built 5,285 5G base stations across the city by the end of June, the municipal telecom authorities said Wednesday.

Constructed by the countrys three major telecommunications operators, the 5G base stations are located in the citys urban core zones, the new airport, the horticultural expo and venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

As the next generation of mobile connectivity and data transmission, 5G technology will be epoch-making in a new era of the Internet of Everything and of great strategic significance for the digital economy, said Wang Hui, deputy head of the Beijing Communications Administration.

The city is expected to achieve full 5G coverage in the capital functional areas, the central business district, innovation centers and the economic-technological development area, and the sub-center, according to the administration.

Gu Jinxu, chief engineer of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said that as 5G technology advances with enriched application of video surveillance, VR teaching and smart banking, the city will be at the forefront of the innovative development of the industry in China.

(Xinhua)08:30, July 18, 2019

BEIJING, July 17 — The Sino-UK Joint Center for Earth and Planetary Sciences, involving the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) and the University of Leeds, has been set up in China, according to the CAS.

More than 50 researchers from China and Britain attended the opening ceremony of the joint center. Discussions on subjects such as engineering geology, applied geophysics, petrogeochemistry, planetary science and paleoclimatology were held during a following academic conference.

The two sides pledged to promote student exchanges, personnel visits and scientific instrument openness, said the CAS.

IGGCAS houses the State Key Laboratory of Lithosphere Evolution and other five key labs of the CAS, namely the Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Laboratory of Shale Gas and Geological Engineering, Laboratory of Mineral Resources, Laboratory of Oil and Gas Resources and Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment.

(Xinhua)08:45, July 16, 2019

BEIJING, July 15 — China has set up an association for brain imaging in Beijing to further promote the development of brain science, China Science Daily reported Monday.

The association was initiated by more than 50 research institutes, universities, hospitals and brain imaging equipment manufacturers. It is supported by five national key laboratories related to brain science and 10 national clinical medical research centers in the fields of neurology and senile diseases.

The association will establish standards for brain imaging data collection and analysis, promote the open sharing of brain imaging equipment among its members and organize academic conferences and training activities. It will also promote exchange and cooperation with international brain imaging research organizations.

The association will pool the wisdom of research institutions and experts to promote the development of brain science in China, the newspaper quoted Gao Jiahong, chairman of the association as saying.

(Peoples Daily Online)16:15, July 16, 2019

The Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is using artificial intelligence (AI) to combat internet rumors and fake news.

The research has been studied since 2013 under the cooperation of the ICT and Chinese tech firms including Alibaba and Tencent, said Cao Juan, leader of the research team.

Rumors are spreading rapidly and extensively in modern society.

According to a recent report, nearly 60 percent of middle-aged and senior people in China have been duped by internet rumors.

To help reduce false information being published online, strict verification is required. However, manual labor cannot cope with the sheer amount of content, as each major information platform generally releases over 500,000 pieces of news every day.

According to a census conducted by Duke University, the number of active fact-checking projects around the world reached 149, including 74 in North America and Europe, as well as 7 in Asia. Also, automated credibility assessment plug-ins have already been made available on some international social network platforms.

However, most of the fact-checking systems in China still rely on manual labor, which will always lead to insufficient timeliness. Facebook statistics indicated that such identification would miss the best time to destroy rumors, and experts who identify information can only process data within their own expertise.

Cao noted that the technology that her team is currently working on could detect suspicious information and perform automatic identification. It only takes one minute before the technology warns of a potential rumor. Besides, the data-driven platform can also grasp the characteristics of different types of stories so that it could automatically recognize fake news in future work.

However, Cao pointed out that the accuracy of AI fact-checkers is not good enough to replace manual work at this time. It might need another five to 10 years before AI can work independently in this sphere, she added.

In addition to identifying fake news and information, AI is also employed to authenticate commodities. The ICT recently announced that it would establish a lab with a Chinese e-commerce platform to explore smart authentication.

鈥淐ompared with human labor, AI has more intensity and higher efficiency. For instance, an expert who authenticates Louis Vuitton bags can finish five or six bags per day at most, but it only takes a few minutes for AI to authenticate one,鈥?Cao said.

(Xinhua)17:22, July 16, 2019

HANGZHOU, July 16 — Chinese payment giant Alipay has rolled out a mini-program to help sort garbage by using artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies.

Users can learn how to sort their trash by scanning waste items with their smartphones, which only takes seconds to know which category a waste item belongs to.

Over 3 million people have tried the new function since its beta test phase in early July. The program has indexed more than 4,000 different types of waste to date.

Shrimp shells, facial masks, sunflower seed shells and medical cotton swabs were among the top 10 most searched items, according to Alipay.

In 2017, the Chinese government set a goal that the country should realize a utilization rate of 35 percent in household garbage recycling by 2020, and 46 Chinese cities should take the lead in implementing mandatory classification of residential waste.

As a pioneer in garbage sorting, Shanghai put into effect a set of compulsory regulations earlier this month.

(Xinhua)08:44, July 15, 2019

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) — Chinas Tiangong-2 space lab is planned to be controlled to leave orbit and re-enter the atmosphere on July 19 (Beijing time), China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced on Saturday.

Most of the spacecraft will be burnt up in the atmosphere, and a small amount of debris is expected to fall in the safe sea area in the South Pacific (160-90 degrees west longitude and 30-45 degrees south latitude), according to CMSEO.

Tiangong-2, an improved version of Tiangong-1, is Chinas first space lab in real sense. Launched on September 15, 2016, the space lab has worked in orbit over 1,000 days, much longer than its 2-year designed life.

Comprising an experiment module and a resource module, the space lab has a total length of 10.4 meters, a largest diameter of 3.35 meters and a takeoff weight of 8.6 tonnes. After its solar panels are unfolded, its wingspan is about 18.4 meters wide. It has functions of rendezvous and docking with the Shenzhou manned spaceship and the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft.

China has carried out a series of scientific and technological space experiments, and tested the in-orbit propellant refueling technology on Tiangong-2.

All the experiments in the space lab have been completed. The spacecraft and the instruments on it are functioning well, said CMSEO.

Preparations for the controlled re-entry into atmosphere of Tiangong-2 are proceeding steadily as planned. China will timely report the information about the spacecraft after it re-enters the atmosphere to fulfill its international obligations, said CMSEO.

(Peoples Daily Online)14:32, July 15, 2019

The concept image of Chinas Mars probe. (Photo/Xinhua)

China will detect signs of life on Mars within the next year, disclosed Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of Chinas lunar exploration plan, after he announced the launch of Chinas first mission to Mars in 2020.

According to him, China will also examine the possibility of setting up a second habitat for humans on the planet during this mission, in a bid to serve the sustained development of humanity.

Ouyang made the remarks at a conference on satellites and space held in Rizhao, east Chinas Shandong Province on July 8.

A satellite, lander and rover will all be employed in the mission, and the construction of the rover has now been completed, Ouyang said.

Though China is a latecomer in Mars exploration, it boasts a high rate of efficiency. For instance, the countrys plan to realize orbiting, landing and roving the Martian surface in a single mission is unprecedented in history. Only the US has completed orbiting and landing at the same time in a single mission to Mars.

So far, 46 explorations to Mars have been conducted, while only 20.5 have been successful. As a result, Mars is called a spacecraft graveyard.

Though it is challenging to explore Mars, China has made substantial preparations. Its previous lunar exploration missions have also laid an important foundation technology-wise.

First of all, the countrys heavy-lift rocket Long March-5 can send the probe to the planet. In addition, China has set up a deep space station for telemetry, tracking, and command which has monitored over 100 million kilometers of lunar probe Chang e 2s journey.

Besides, the success of Chinas lunar missions has boosted the countrys development in landing and roving technologies.

Former exploration has proven the existence of ancient river beds on the surface of Mars, indicating that rivers previously existed on the planet. However, no trace of water has ever been found on the surface of Mars, Ouyang said, adding that China is planning to survey the distribution of underground water on Mars.

(Peoples Daily Online)16:34, July 12, 2019

(Peoples Daily/Huo Wen)

The Chinese-built first expressway in Mongolia was handed over to the local government at the beginning of July, as a gift from China to Mongolia on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The two-way, six-lane expressway is 32 kilometers long with a designed speed of 80 kilometers per hour. It connects the New Ulan Bator International Airport and Yarmag toll station.

The expressway is contracted by China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group (CTCEG). Adopting Chinese technologies, the company built the expressway into one that could withstand low temperatures, said Zheng Ji, chief engineer of the expressway project.

To ensure that the road is smooth and flat, CTCEG adopted a high-tech pavement machine made by China. Equipped with infrared devices, the vehicle could lower the deviations in the construction and thus make the road smoother.

We have learned a lot from the Chinese technicians even though we only participated in a small part of the construction, said the chief engineer of a local company. With the help of Chinese technicians, the company learnt how to protect slopes during construction.

The Mongolian company had only five engineers and several pieces of equipment when it was just established in 2012. After cooperating with CTCEG in 2017, it now has 20 engineers, 100 technicians and 60 pieces of equipment.

CTCEG has cooperated with about 30 Mongolian companies and created over 1,000 jobs in the past three years.

Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Prime Minister of Mongolia, said the expressway will not only make it convenient for people to travel, but also stimulate the economic development of his country.

(Xinhua)07:30, July 12, 2019

BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) — China on Thursday refuted a letter, jointly signed by 22 nations, criticizing Chinas policy in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The letter, addressed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, disregards the facts, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a press briefing.

It has slandered and smeared China with unwarranted accusations, flagrantly politicized human rights issues and grossly interfered in Chinas internal affairs, Geng said.

The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations with the countries, Geng said, urging the relevant countries to respect the facts, abandon prejudice, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop politicizing human rights issues and using the issue of Xinjiang to interfere in Chinas internal affairs.

Geng stressed that Xinjiang issues were totally Chinas internal affairs, which were related to Chinas sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

The Chinese government and Chinese people have the most say on Xinjiang issues and cannot be interfered by any country or external forces, he said.

Geng said Xinjiang had not had a terrorist incident for more than two years due to a series of anti-terrorism and de-extremization measures, including the establishment of vocational education and training centers, and people of all ethnic groups had sincerely supported the governments policy.

The Chinese side has invited a number of diplomats, media outlets, experts and scholars from various countries to visit Xinjiang and also sent invitations to the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, he said.

We welcome those who truly uphold the principles of objectivity and fairness to come to Xinjiang but firmly oppose any external forces interfering in Chinas internal affairs, undermining Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity through Xinjiang issues, the spokesperson said.