Scientific achievement evaluations face reform
Cutting-edge technologies like big data and artificial intelligence have been chosen by policymakers to help the country better define the significance of the latest achievements made by scientific researchers.
The move is part of a guideline issued by the General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Aug 2.
The document aims to "improve the evaluation system for scientific and technological achievements" and spur the transformation of such achievements "into real productive forces" and stipulates that technical tools including big data and artificial intelligence should be adopted to "advance methodology studies" and "develop information-based tools" for evaluation purposes.
In addition, the guideline called for expanding the use of standardized evaluations for recent achievements and adopting review methods such as innovation competition and intellectual property evaluations.
It also sought the development of "a cross-industry, cross-department, cross-regional database" that will compile scientific and technological results, demands, cases and evaluation tools and methods.
China will issue a catalog that lays out scenarios for applying the latest technologies, the guideline added.
It will also advance signature projects that may lead to significant achievements in mass industrial production and will facilitate further evaluation of those achievements.
At the center of evaluations should be the quality of scientific and technological innovations, how the achievements can be used in applied technology and their contributions to socioeconomic development.
New buildings to better withstand earthquakes
Engineering countermeasures against earthquakes are at the heart of a regulation signed by Premier Li Keqiang that aims to protect the nation's new buildings from potentially deadly temblors.
In particular, projects for new schools, kindergartens, hospitals, nursing facilities and child welfare institutions should "align with seismic fortification measures" that meet standards set by authorities.
The standards also apply to the construction of new emergency operation centers, emergency shelters and broadcast facilities and are aimed at improving the earthquake resistance of projects under construction, reducing the risk of disasters and safeguarding lives and property.
The regulation was passed at a State Council executive meeting in May and will go into effect on Sept 1, according to a State Council decree dated Aug 4.
Design documents for future construction projects should include the maximum quake magnitude structure could endure, as well as measures taken to ensure seismic fortification.
In rural areas, renovations of dilapidated houses, migrant relocation projects and post-disaster reconstruction should also meet seismic fortification requirements, the regulation stipulated.
Cultural heritage sites limit traffic due to virus
The country's cultural heritage sites, including museums, will put a cap on the daily numbers of visitors in an effort to step up COVID-19 prevention and control.
According to a circular issued by the National Cultural Heritage Administration on Aug 5, venues across the country should implement disease prevention and control measures "on a regular basis".
The facilities are asked to take measures to reduce the number of people gathering and make better use of tools like online reservations, visitor-number limits and digital tour guides.
The circular requests indoor areas at cultural venues to be ventilated and disinfected on a daily basis and also requires that visitors undergo temperature screenings, show their health QR codes upon arrival, wear masks and maintain social distancing during visits.
