CHINA SKY EYE ENGINEER

CHINA SKY EYE ENGINEER

The worlds largest and most sensitive radio telescope was put into operation on January 11， after a three-year trial.

The chief engineer of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope （FAST）， Jiang Peng， a doctorate from the Institute of Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences， joined the FAST team in 2009.

He was responsible for the cable system. After multiple experiments and failures， the team worked out a solution. The 30-ton feed cabin， the core part of FAST， was fi nally hoisted up with six cables from six concrete towers on the surrounding hills. It was one of the three major technological breakthroughs to get FAST up.

The single-dish telescope has a half-a-kilometer diameter and a receiving area equivalent to about 30 football fi elds. It is located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Guizhou Province in southwest China.

The telescope can now be used for observation at full capacity. A number of major scientifi c discoveries are expected in the coming two or three years.

Better Facilities For Agriculture

Peoples Daily January 13

Previously， a sci-tech company with businesses in cultural tourism， sci-tech agriculture and financial services faced a dilemma in growing cherry tomatoes in Dali， Yunnan Province in southwest China. If it built greenhouses， production would double and operation costs reduce， while profi t would get higher.

However， according to a regulation by the state authorities in 2014， greenhouses with steel structures were banned to prevent illegal occupation of arable land. With the success of this initiative， authorities then addressed the issue of legal greenhouses that do not damage farmland and can be removed if the land is used to grow other crops， while the irrigation facilities for the greenhouses can be retained for new crops.

At the end of 2019， the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a notice， allowing facilities that dont damage the plough layer of arable land.

The new policy will benefit not only one single enterprise or one locality but many other places which rely on greenhouses for growing vegetables in winter.

A balance should be struck between protection and utilization in formulating arable land policies to ensure grain security while boosting modern agriculture.

A Team Inspires A Nation

China Newsweek January 13

The Chinese womens volleyball team is more than just a name， it represents courage， strength and the spirit to undergo arduous struggle. From 1981 to 1986， the team won two World Championships， two World Cups and the 1984 Olympics gold， becoming the fi rst volleyball team to do so.

Movie director Peter Chan was curious about how the sport team gained widespread attention in China. His new film， The Chinese Womens Volleyball Team， scheduled to hit the screen on January 25， endeavors to show what the team went through.

The story revolves around the 35-year friendship between Lang Ping， head coach of the team who was a striker before becoming a coach， and Chen Zhonghe， head coach of the team from 2001 to 2009. Lang was head coach of the U.S. national team in 2005-08.

In 2013 she came back as head coach of the Chinese national team and led the side to win the Olympics in 2016 with Chens assistance.

Famous actress Gong Li， internationally acclaimed for her roles in Chinese director Zhang Yimous films， including The Red Sorghum， plays Lang. Chan thought though the two dont look similar， they are of similar age and have both carved out a niche in their respective f ields. Also， they share the characteristics of being aggressive and obstinate.

For a long time， sports films were not popular in China， one reason being the difficulty in depicting scenes of intense competition. To solve the problem， Chan cast professional volleyball players. The 1980s volleyball team members are played by athletes selected after auditioning over 2，000 players from volleyball teams and sports colleges nationwide. The current national womens volleyball team play themselves in the fi lm.

Langs daughter Bai Lang plays Lang in her youth. Currently working at an investment bank in the U.S.， she was a spiker on the Stanford University volleyball team. She had to lose 15 kg to play the role.

Subcenter Spreads Wings

Beijing Youth Daily January 14

The year 2019 was eventful for Tongzhou， a suburban district where Beijings sub-administrative center is located. On January 11， 2019， a total of 35 departments and over 12，000 Beijing Municipal Government personnel moved to the subcenter. Over the past year， the construction of the center has accelerated.

The subcenter station， the intersection of three light rails and three railway lines， started construction in November 2019 and will be built into the largest underground comprehensive transportation hub in Asia. Cultural facilities including a theater， a library and a branch of the Capital Museum started construction； Universal Studios Beijing， the fi fth Universal Studios-branded theme park in the world， will open in the spring of 2021； a new campus of Renmin University of China started construction in March 2019 and is expected to be put into operation in 2023.

The subcenter focuses on high-end industries including commercial services， cultural tourism and scientifi c and technological innovation.

Its development is driven by reform and opening up. Preferable policies should be utilized to create a favorable environment for development. The construction of supporting facilities should be accelerated， with every inch of land put to good use to improve the effi ciency and social benefi t of land use.

SCIENTIST AWARDED IN SAUDI ARABIA

Wang Xiaodong， Director of the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing， was awarded the King Faisal Prize （KFP） in Science in Riyadh， the capital of Saudi Arabia， on January 9， becoming the fi fth scientist of Chinese origin to win the honor.

Launched by the King Faisal Foundation and fi rst awarded in 1979， the prize recognizes the outstanding work of individuals and institutions in fi ve major categories， including medicine and science.

Wang received the award for his pioneering discoveries that led to changes in understanding the functions and death of adult cells. It has contributed to the development of treatments and drugs that stop cell death and resist life-threatening diseases.

Born in Xinxiang， Henan Province in central China in 1963， Wang received a PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 1991. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

“Teslas entry into the Chinese market should be highly valued by the Chinese people. If we dont make progress， we will be defeated.”

Cao Dewang， founder and Chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group， speaking to China Business Network on January 13

“China used to be a world factory manufacturing products with good quality， but it lacked self-owned brands. I am particularly happy today to visit so many hi-tech Chinese companies with their own brands.”

Jerry Kowal， an American blogger living in China， in a vlog on his Weibo account on January 8， during the International Consumer Electronics Show

“Community correction offers people a favorable social environment and can help them better reintegrate into society and prevent and reduce crime， as well as maintain social harmony and stability.”

Liu Wujun， editor-in-chief of Justice of China， writing in Beijing Daily on January 9

“We considered ‘always online as an important factor while we were developing the first 5G PC， which is a basic requirement for future smart PCs.”

Yang Yuanqing， Lenovo Chairman and CEO， speaking to Xinhua News Agency on January 8