The Chinese Revolution which broke out on the 10th October 1911 was led by Sun Yat-sen. The latter was determined to develop the newly proclaimed republic through S&T. The road was difficult but the patriotic May Fourth Movement of May 4, 1919 saw the birth of Chinese contemporary science. Some Chinese students in America launched the first scientist organization, the ‘Chinese Science Society’, with its own organ, the ‘Science Magazine’.

For the purpose of the present discussion, the tremendous achievements in S&T in Ancient China will not be dwelt upon yet again. The public is aware of the basics of these achievements and to repeat them here does not fall within the framework and objectives of the present article. Suffice it to say that China lost her pre-eminence in S&T and Europe took over the leadership due to the closed-door policy to the outside world implemented by the former since the Ming Dynasty in the 14th and 15th centuries. Following her exit from the stage of the world’s S&T and the period of the Opium Wars, China had reached the condition of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society by the late 19th century.

In the mid-19th century, some Chinese thought of attempting to turn things around by studying advanced S&T in the West. The first Chinese to do so was Rong Hong from Guangdong, who went to the US in 1847 and succeeded in qualifying to enter Yale University after three years. He became the first Chinese to graduate from an American University in 1854. Other Chinese students followed.

The Chinese Revolution which broke out on the 10th October 1911 was led by Sun Yat-sen. The latter was determined to develop the newly proclaimed republic through S&T. The road was difficult but the patriotic May Fourth Movement of May 4, 1919 saw the birth of Chinese contemporary science. Some Chinese students in America launched the first scientist organization, the ‘Chinese Science Society’, with its own organ, the ‘Science Magazine’.

The Kuomintang government (1927 to 1949) set up the National Central Research Institute on June 9, 1928 and the National Beiping (i.e. Beijing) Research Institute in September 1929. Although conditions were not conducive, particularly during the years of the War of Resistance against Japan (1937 to 1945), progress in developing S&T continued to be made. However, at the time that the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949, there were only around 30 special research organizations and not more than 50,000 scientific and technical personnel in all that great land.

The new administration saw the creation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in November 1949. The years, which followed saw the creation of a number of S&T organizations, such as the Chinese Science and Technology Association, Chinese Meteorology Bureau and the National Ministry of Geology. In January 1956, China declared the objective of ‘Marching towards Science’. The perceived encouragement of the government for S&T across the board resulted in over 3000 top-flight scientists, who had been working overseas, returning to China by 1957. The majority of them founded or initiated S&T development in China. From among them were drawn two thirds of the first 233 Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 1956, the ‘Long-range Plan for Scientific and Technological Development from1956 to 1967’ was declared for 57 major tasks with the involvement of over 600 scientists and technical experts nationwide. As these objectives were achieved early by 1962, it was followed by the ‘Scientific and Technological Planning Programme’ or ‘Ten-year Plan’ from 1963 to 1972. The Government Work Programme of Chou Enlai in 1964 saw the call to the nation to modernize S&T, agriculture, industry and national defence (the ‘four modernizations’). By 1965, China could count over 1700 scientific research institutes and over 120,000 staff engaged in scientific research.

S&T in China was set back during the Great Cultural Revolution in the ten years from 1966 to October 1976. However, despite it having become almost stagnant, some successes, such as the launching of the satellite, Dongfanghong No.1, were nevertheless achieved.

Following the end of the Great Cultural Revolution, the ‘National Conference on Science and Technology’ was held from March 18 to 31,1978. The then vice-premier, Deng Xiaoping, in his speech at the opening ceremony stressed that S&T was the first productive force. This conference, also, featured a significant speech titled ‘Spring of Science’ delivered by Guo Moruo, then President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Further reforms of the Chinese S&T system in early 1985, led to the establishment in 1988 of 53 national industrial development zones of high and new technology.

Some S&T-related national plans developed and executed in China were the National Plan for Tackling Key Problems of Science and Technology (1982), Plan for the Construction of National Key Laboratories (1984), Spark Plan (1986), National Plan for High-tech Research and Development (863 Plan) (1986), Torch Plan (1988), Plan for Popularizing National Achievements of Science and Technology (1990), Plan for Key Projects of State Basic Research (Climbing Plan) (1991), Plan for National Engineering and Technological Research Centres (1992), Project of Technologic Innovation (1996) and Plan for National Development in Key Basic Research (973 Plan) (1997). A Chinese natural science fund system was, also, established.

A large variety of S&T projects came to fruition under these programmes. One may consider by way of illustration the National Plan for High-tech Research and Development, which came by the abbreviated name ‘863 Plan’ as it was proposed by four senior scientists on March 3, 1986. The proposal was brought to the attention of Deng Xiaoping, who made a note on it ‘This matter should be decided immediately. No delay shall be permitted.’. After consideration, the government of China approved the Plan in keeping with the principles of ‘limiting goals, stressing main points’ and ‘aiming at the leading edge, pushing it by the goals’. High-tech fields initially covered by the ‘863 Plan’ included biology, information, automation, energy resources and new materials; ocean technology was added in 1996. This Plan, like the others, resulted in the creation of employment opportunities and the generation of numerous patents and considerable wealth.

The third important milestone in the development of S&T in modern China (after the initiatives of 1956 and 1978) was the National Conference on Science and Technology held in May 1995. The objective of ‘Rejuvenating the Nation with Science and Education’ was proposed on this occasion by Jiang Zemin, then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

A policy of ‘Economic construction must rely on science and technology; the scientific and technological work must serve economic construction’ has been adopted. A middle- to long-term (2006 to 2020) plan is designed to provide S&T support to the overall creation of an affluent society. By the year 2002, research and development (R&D) personnel in China reached 1.035 million and scientists and engineers 2.172 million. While comparisons of financial inputs in China and Sri Lanka are meaningless given the relative circumstances of the two countries, one may note that the investments made by China to advance S&T have been substantial. These rewarding investments on S&T have led China within the space of some decades to become one of the world’s wealthiest nations.

Basic scientific research is not overlooked. Over 100,000 scientists and technicians work in this area and during the 9th Five-year Plan over 20,000 topics of interest were investigated. One of the successes of research in basic science was the first synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin by September 1965. A number of other advances in areas of basic scientific research have been achieved.

The importance of the understanding by the public of S&T has not escaped the attention of the Chinese government. To this end the ‘Science and Technology Popularization Law of the People’s Republic of China’ was passed in July 2002. It was said to be the first of its kind in the world. It is also reported that both the government and the public at all levels lay great store by science popularization and considerable efforts are taken in this direction. To this end, the China National Science and Technology Association conducted national surveys throughout this huge nation in 1992, 1994 and 1996 to assess the level of science attainment. Subsequently, this Association established the ‘National Network for the Survey on Science Attainment in China’ in 2001 with the approval of the State Statistic Bureau. This permitted the subsequent conducting of the 4th and 5th Survey on Science Attainment of China. These surveys demonstrate the serious approach taken by the Chinese State to Science. The survey of the year 2003 revealed, "Scientists enjoy high reputation. The mostly desired occupations that parents hope for children to take in future are listed in the order: teachers and doctors and then scientists".

A number of Ministries and organs, such as the non-governmental China Association of Science and Technology and the Women’s Association of China have departments, which actively promote and popularize S&T. The ‘Wagons of Science and Technology’ were brought into use in January 2001 by the State Science and Technology Popularization Committee as mobile units to conduct programmes in remote places. In 2002, they visited 17 provinces, cities and districts in northwest China and the countryside and, among other functions, gave around 100,000 lectures to an audience of tens of millions. Similarly, the programme ‘Trains of Science and Technology Popularization’, inaugurated in 2002 takes S&T to remote areas, including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Its major programmes include ‘experience on getting rich’.

The media participate in major ways in the popularization of S&T. Contributions include:

1) Television: CCTV channels 7 and 10 and other channels, such as ‘Light of Science’, ‘Approaches to Science’ and ‘Science and Technology Observation’. Local and provincial TV stations also carry S&T programmes,

2) Newspapers: The first S&T tabloid, ‘Science’, appeared in March 1954. Over 60 newspapers with S&T content, including ‘Science Daily’ and ‘Science Time’, are published at present,

3) Journals: by 2000, there were 430 journals of S&T popularization and 4600 periodicals of S&T,

4) Books: both local and translated books with relevance to S&T are published each year. In 2002, 4377 titles were published, and

5) Internet: While only 6% of the public were utilising the Internet for information gathering in 2004, it is popular and websites for S&T information have been set up.

Large-scale events for the popularization of S&T are organized on a regular basis.

Finally, mention must be made of the growing contacts and exchanges of scientists domiciled in China and of overseas colleagues. Meaningful policies have been announced to encourage professional Chinese scientists living abroad to return and set up businesses. Sci-tech Parks and Research Centres have been established jointly with foreign countries, such as the US, Russia, UK, France, Germany and Singapore.

The foregoing presents only a few features in the development of S&T in one Asian country. The vigorous development of S&T in China is contributing greatly to the booming economy of that country. In a similar fashion, the acceptance in India of the importance of S&T is seeing her pre-eminence in many areas. The base of the spectacular growth of India’s S&T can be traced to the foresightedness of Jawaharlal Nehru at Independence. The encouragement given by Nehru’s successors to India’s scientists over generations has contributed greatly to the quiet confidence observable in the senior members of her professionals in the area of S&T.

It is to be hoped that the incoming government under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapakse will support and encourage the S&T professionals of Sri Lanka. They can contribute greatly to the resurgence of the economy of the country. The economic rewards of intellectual activities need not be constrained by the physical size of Sri Lanka. If the reforms can be effected without undue delay, the economic benefits will start to be experienced before the next elections are due and will contribute significantly to political stability in this and future generations.