Science lessons

XINHUANET.COM reported the biggest problem faced by Chinese scientists was the length of the application procedure required for new research projects. About 51 per cent of the scientists in the survey said they found this to be a significant difficulty for them.

The second most common complaint was the poor condition of laboratory facilities, followed by the lack of research funds.

According to the website, many researchers said national-level scientific projects were controlled by various "authorities" and the majority of scientists were not being supported financially to develop their projects.

Some pointed out that the reputation of an applicant and his or her relations with people in charge of the project played important roles in the decision as to whether the applicant would be allotted the project.

Insiders said such problems could be slowing down the development of science and technology in China.

Election upset

ZHU Tianbo, a Communist Party member in South China's Hainan Province, was recently expelled from the Party for interfering in a village election in the Hele County of Wanning City, according to the Hainan Daily.

Zhu, together with 40 farmers, rushed into the village committee office and burnt the ballot boxes, because he thought the election had been "influenced by some people."

Following this event, the city strengthened supervision of village-level elections by sending out investigation teams, setting up specific offices to deal with farmers' reports and publicizing complaint hotline numbers.

Two bribery cases, eight reports of cadres' economic crime cases and five cases of misconduct in village elections have been noted and placed under investigation.

Budget forecast

SHANGHAI Airlines has recently invested 70 million yuan (US$8.4 million) to purchase China United Airlines, aiming to transform it into the first "budget" airline in China.

Such airlines first appeared in the US in the 1970s, slashing fares by using a single type of plane to cut the expense of training pilots and eliminating in-flight meals. The price of their tickets could sometimes be half the normal fare.

China Youth Daily reported that low-price airlines might not easily fit the Chinese market, since prices of air tickets are fixed and cannot be cut in the same way. Insiders also said Chinese airlines found it hard to make a profit due to the heavy cost of planes and fuel.

However, analysts said more low-price airlines will appear over the next five years. So far, 20 such airlines have appeared in Asia.

Slow-motion TV

THE market for High Definition Television (HDTV) has been developing slowly in China, according to xinhuanet.com.

Few Shanghai consumers showed any interest in obtaining the free top boxes available in special promotions of the TV sets.

Statistics show that less than 300,000 people in China were using HDTV by the end of 2003. The trial cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan in Hubei Province - have all encountered problems in promoting HDTV.

An official from Shanghai Oriental Cable Network Co Ltd said the city would have over 50,000 HDTV users by the end of this year. Such users can also receive cable channels and digital channels, but their monthly payments are four times the ordinary level.

(Star News)