Premier Li Keqiang pleads for more freedom for scientists
July 17, 2017 Category Science & technology, Weekly
China’s Premier Li Keqiang has called for scientists to be given more freedom to operate in their research to help the country’s drive towards greater innovation. Many scientists have complained that there were too many constraints on scientific projects from the government, especially over the management of funds, which was restricting researchers’ creativity, Li said. The Premier criticized officials drawing up plans and quotas for research programs, requiring certain tasks to be done by a specific month. “Which one of the major scientific discoveries in human history was made by planning? Even Newton himself couldn’t plan his discovery of gravity,” Li said. The government should create a more tolerant environment for researchers, especially in studies that could affect the future course of human history, the Premier added. More than 40 government departments and nearly 100 programs were previously involved in the management of scientific funds, according to Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said China spent CNY1.4 trillion on research and development (R&D) in 2015, up by nearly 9% from the previous year. Over CNY71 billion, or 5%, went to basic research, lower than most innovation driven economies, whose ratio is above 10%.
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