A dead house painter, killed in a new residential building in Wuhan, Hubei Province, was forbidden from being carried down through the stairs or elevators, as property owners believed it could have ominous implications. The building where the house … read more
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Nobel laureate C.N. Yang (left) and Turing Award winner Yao Qizhi. [Photo: China Daily] |
Nobel laureate Chen Ning Yang and Turing Award winner Yao Qizhi have become Chinese citizens and officially joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences as academicians－the highest academic title in China, the academy’s faculty office said on Tuesday.
They are the first overseas scientists to relinquish their US citizenship to join the official faculty of China’s highest scientific research organization. Yang, 94, will join the mathematical physics department, while Yao, 70, will enter the information technology and science department.
“They are both world renowned scholars,” the office said in a statement. “Their entry into the academy’s faculty will increase the influence of China’s scientific circles worldwide.”
Yang and Tsung-dao Lee received the 1957 Nobel Prize in physics for their work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction, becoming the first people of Chinese origin to win a Nobel Prize.
Yao became in 2000 the first person of Chinese origin to receive the Turing Award, the most prestigious award in computer science. He won for his fundamental contributions to the theory of computation such as cryptography and communication complexity.
In late 2016, both scientists had relinquished their foreign nationality and submitted their request to join the academy. The faculty office said it had to adopt new procedures to accept the two scientists, who were both foreign academicians at the time.
In order to become a foreign academician, one has to be an accomplished scientist who contributed greatly to China’s science and technology. After being recommended by more than five Chinese members, the foreign scientist enters a biennial election and must win a two-thirds majority of academicians’ votes to join their ranks, according to the academy’s charter.
A foreign academician, though lacking voting rights, can advise on Chinese scientific developments and the workings of the faculty office, as well as receive academic publications and invitations to seminars held by the office. Foreign academicians can join the ranks of Chinese members once they receive Chinese citizenship.
A Chinese member can make suggestions on major Chinese scientific projects and vote on prospective new members of the academy.
There are now 754 Chinese and 78 foreign scientists in the academy. In recent years, the faculty office has worked to build a “big academician family”, connecting renowned scholars from around the world to give advice and contribute to China’s scientific development.
“As China’s science, economy and society develop, the influence of the faculties will increase domestically and abroad,” the office said.
read moreRichard Burgon, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the escape of a prisoner from outside Aintree University Hospital, said:
“Liz Truss is fast becoming the Secretary of State for prison escapes. Under her watch the prison system lurches from crisis to crisis and she seems to have no cure.
“Liz Truss’ flagship Prisons and Courts Bill is due to this week and the pressure on her to deliver is mounting.”
read moreI was sad to receive a copy of the resignation letter of the Head teacher of the Forest this week. I wish her well in retirement and understand her wish to pass the leadership of the school on to someone else.
In the letter she draws attention to the current level of the Forest budget. I agree with those in Wokingham who would like our schools to have bigger budgets, as they are at the bottom of the league tables for receiving public money. I campaigned on the Conservative party Manifesto in 2015 that proposed a move to fairer funding in this Parliament. I worked with MPs from other parts of the country in the previous Parliament who shared the problem of relatively low levels of financial support for their schools. This Parliament I have urged successive Secretaries of State to press on with putting in a suitable scheme that rebalances the cash going to each school so that those getting least are better treated.
The present Secretary of State has promised to introduce such a scheme and is consulting on the details. I have urged her to give more to the poorly financed schools. I have also asked for further transitional relief. Some was awarded in recent years as the Coalition government agreed with me and the MP Group making the case for fairer funding.
I did have a meeting at the Forest to discuss budgets and to suggest ways to attract more money. The immediate pressures have been created by a shortfall of pupils applying to the school, which the Forest attributed to the opening of Bohunt. The main sums of money are given to schools on a per capita basis to cover the costs of each pupil. This will remain true under the new funding scheme, so it will be important for a school that wants a decent budget to recruit pupils up to its capacity. With more pupils and more income it is possible to offer a wider range of subjects and to have more equipment and staff. If fewer pupils attend then it does mean fewer staff and may also entail a narrower range of subjects.
read moreJon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to a Regulatory Policy Committee report criticising the quality of departments’ impact assessments of policy decisions, said:
“Years of Tory cuts are clearly taking their toll on civil servants who face increased workloads, tight resources and worsening conditions.
“It is utterly unacceptable that departments are diverting resources away from providing rigorous impact assessment of their decisions – what some might call ‘idiot-proofing’ the civil service from Tory policy.
“Ministers could be leading us up the garden path and the departments themselves would be none the wiser.
“It is crucial that the Government urgently improve departmental monitoring and evaluation measures.”
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