Month: July 2021

(Xinhua)16:49, August 21, 2020

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — China registered technology transaction volume of 770.72 billion yuan (about 111.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2020, up 6.5 percent year on year, said the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Technology service contracts topped the list with a transaction volume of 368.41 billion yuan, while the value of technology development contracts rose 22.9 percent to 325.2 billion yuan.

The transaction volume of contracts registered by scientific research institutions increased by 30 percent year on year.

Among all the 136,434 technology contracts registered in the first half, 56,287 involved intellectual property rights, the ministry said.

By ZamirAhmedAwan (Peoples Daily Online)15:26, August 12, 2020

The New York Times reported on 15 July 2020: The U.S. Weighs Sweeping Travel Ban on Chinese Communist Party Members. The presidential order under consideration would be based on the same statute in the Immigration and Nationality Act used in a 2017 travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries.

Taking this illogical and purely theoretical approach, the U.S. may not be aware of the exact number of CPC (Communist Party of China) members, or their nature. There are almost 92 million CPC members, and if family members are included, the figure could be three times that number. It is the largest, most well-organized, best trained, and most disciplined political party in the world. It has a history of almost one century. Banning the CPC means banning the government of China. Does the U.S. also understand the legal and political percussions of this move?

Practically, is it possible for the U.S. to know if someone is a CPC member? Is there any verification method available to the U.S? The U.S. had better think twice before making such a decision. It is not a practical approach.

The U.S. has a history of banning certain groups, nationalities, or individuals, which is certainly possible. But banning the entire CPC may not be practical, or even possible.

Four decades ago, when China and the US established diplomatic relations, during President Nixons visit to China in 1972, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai said that China and the U.S. needed to be clear about our differences and find common ground, so that both sides could reach a new starting point in bilateral ties. President Nixon responded that while our two countries have many differences, what brings us together is that we have common interests that transcend those differences. The Shanghai Communique issued by the two countries encapsulated this consensus of mutual respect and seeking common ground while setting aside differences.

Forty years on, while China and the U.S. are quite different in terms of their social systems and many other aspects, such differences have not affected the peaceful coexistence and cooperation between the two countries, and they should not affect their bilateral ties in the future. It is neither necessary nor possible for the two sides to change each other. Instead, we should respect the choices that have been independently made by the people on both sides. Four decades of Sino-US relations have resulted in a number of achievements and mutual benefits. The U.S. understood clearly that the CPC ruled China, and yet was willing to establish diplomatic relations, which means recognition of the CPC.

China is firmly committed to pursuing development and progress to meet the wishes of its people and make new, even more significant contributions to humankind, through Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and under the great leadership of the CPC. Anyone who attempts to derail this process faces certain failure. China respects other countries, nations, and their political systems, and hopes for reciprocal treatment from others. China does not interfere in other countries鈥?domestic affairs and will not allow anyone to interfere in Chinese local politics.

If this is nothing more than a political slogan aimed at gaining anti-China votes in the presidential elections to be held in November this year, it is a wrong strategy. If this is to put pressure on and coerce China, then it should be noted that China has already gone beyond the point where any country is able to compel it. China is more than capable of protecting its sovereignty.

The U.S. has put restrictions on Chinese students and is now repenting, as they formed the single largest foreign student body and were a significant source of income for American universities, not to mention intellectual contribution. Banning Huawei has also impacted the U.S. adversely, while the reduced number of Chinese tourists has affected the US tourism industry. Any further ban on the CPC may harm the U.S. even more and make the U.S. repent, while it should also be prepared for an appropriate Chinese reciprocal action.

The opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Peoples Daily Online.

Zamir Ahmed Awan is a senior fellow with the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and a sinologist at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan. E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com

(Xinhua)17:22, August 12, 2020

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) — The currently raging coronavirus could not have been leaked from a lab, Chinese virologists told U.S. media Monday, calling for more international cooperation during the turbulent period disrupted by the pandemic.

I have repeatedly emphasized that it was on Dec. 30 that we got contact with the samples of SARS-like pneumonia or pneumonia of unknown cause sent from the hospital, Yuan Zhiming, director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, told NBC News, the first Western media outlet that was invited to the institute since the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

We have not encountered the novel coronavirus before that … there is no way that it is leaked from the lab, Yuan stressed.

His remarks were seconded by Wang Yanyi, director of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), who said in her interview with NBC News that the fact that none of the institutes scientists contracted the virus has made it extremely unlikely that the virus could have escaped from the lab.

The WIV, founded in the 1950s, is a renowned research organization that became Chinas first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WIV has been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories that the virus was leaked from it.

However, it has been a consensus among the international academic community that the leak theory has no evidence and the virus has a natural origin.

Top U.S. infectious disease expert and health official Anthony Fauci has clarified that current scientific evidence shows it is highly unlikely that the virus was manmade.

If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and whats out there now, (the scientific evidence) is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated, he noted in an interview published in May by National Geographic.

Peter Daszak, director of EcoHealth Alliance, a global non-profit network that develops solutions to preventing pandemics, also pointed out that there is absolutely zero evidence that it escaped from a lab.

The fact that they published the sequence (of the pathogen) so quickly suggests to me that they werent trying to cover up anything, he added.

In fact, despite the U.S. administrations repeated allegations that COVID-19 stemmed from a research lab or a wet market in Wuhan, it has failed to provide any proof to back up its claims.

According to NBC News, current and former U.S. intelligence officials said in April that spy agencies had ruled out that the coronavirus was manmade.

Facing a raging controversy of the leak theory, WIV director Wang said it is unfortunate that we have been targeted as a scapegoat for the origin of the virus.

Any person would inevitably feel very angry or misunderstood being subject to unwarranted or malicious accusations while carrying out research and related work in the fight against the virus, Wang said.

Despite being unfairly targeted, the Chinese experts called for more international cooperation amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang noted that the institute will fully support the World Health Organization in its efforts to investigate in the origin of the pathogen, urging that politics not cloud investigations into how the virus spilled over into humans.

Yuan said the deterioration of U.S.-China relations will hurt scientific cooperation, which is vital to mitigating the outbreak.

We dont want to see the tension between China and the U.S., because it is not good for the scientific development. It is not good for the progress and stability of the world, he said.

We have learned a lot from the American scientists in terms of their scientific technology, spirit and relevant experience, he said. During this pandemic, I think we still need to believe in science, respect science and trust the scientists.

(Xinhua)09:13, August 13, 2020

Israeli researchers have developed an innovative mapping system for blind pedestrians, the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) said on Wednesday.

This artificial intelligence (AI) system is designed to improve the lives of the blind in terms of mobility, accessibility and independence.

As part of the study, published in the journal Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, Technion researchers have developed software for calculating walking routes tailored to the needs of the blind for safe spatial orientation.

The software weights environmental and semantic data important for the blind, focusing on safe, accessible and easy-to-navigate routes.

The study included deep learning, observations, and interviews with orientation and mobility instructors, as well as with blind people.

This has led to a clear definition of spatial criteria, best expressing aspects of mobility, accessibility and safety, based on the routes geometric complexity, type, purpose, length and landmarks.

Additional features have been integrated into the system, providing accessibility to crosswalks and traffic lights.

The new system has been successfully tested in several locations, with blind volunteers saying that in most cases the route chosen by the system was more accessible and safer than the route calculated by commercial popular software.

(Xinhua)09:40, August 13, 2020

The works competing in the Virtual Reality (VR) section of the 77th Venice Intl Film Festival will be accessible to audiences in several countries around the world, the organizers announced on Wednesday.

Venice VR Expanded, as the section is called this year, will specifically include 44 visual projects submitted by authors of 24 different nationalities.

These projects will be available for viewing at cultural institutions in 10 other countries, including China, Russia, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Germany.

Such institutions were part of the Satellite Program network, and will allow their audience to enjoy the competing works online by providing the necessary technology at their locations, the organizers explained.

China Academy of Art-Sandbox Immersive Festival in eastern Zhejiang province will be among the institutions involved, along with Espace Centquatre-Paris Diversion in the French capital, Comedie de Geneve in Geneva, Design Center Flacon in Moscow, Institute of Art Culture in Barcelona, and INVR. SPACE (in partnership with VRBB) in Germanys capital Berlin.

Other cultural and art centers to become temporary venues of this years Venice VR will include Portland Art Museum and Northwest Film Center in the northwestern U.S. city of Portland, PHI Center in Canadas Montreal, and Nikolaj Kunsthal in Denmarks capital Copenhagen.

The virtual works would also be available for viewing in three other Italian venues (Mestre, Piacenza, and Modena).

The Venice VR section will take place online this year, with the 44 selected projects competing for three specific awards: namely, the Grand Jury Prize for Best VR Immersive Work, the Best VR Immersive User Experience, and the Best VR Immersive Story.

The 77th edition of the worlds oldest film festival runs from Sept. 2-12 under the leadership of Director Alberto Barbera.

The main competition will comprise 18 movies from countries including Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Israel, Mexico, Russia, and the United States.

It will be the first international film festival to take place after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out at a global level.

A specific anti-COVID-19 safety protocol and some changes in the festival setting will be put in place to ensure the health safety of visitors and operators, organizers said in late July while announcing the line-up.