Not long ago, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance launched a joint initiative to build up counties with science and technology. In an attempt to provide S&T support for some 300 counties or townships in the middle and west sections, and in less developed areas in the east section, the initiative will mobilize some 1,000 countries or townships to work on capacity building, and make local people rich, in a timeframe of 3 to 5 years.
To implement the initiative, the Ministry of Finance has created a special fund to go along with other incentives such as rewards and compensation. State funds will be allocated for the starting period, and be followed by diverse incentive schemes for later phase development. Efforts will be made to mobilize all walks of life to respond the initiative, encouraging diverse S&T oriented investments in the implementation of the initiative, and in the economic development at the county level. The pilot counties or townships are asked to enhance and secure their own investment in line with the implementation of the initiative. Local authorities will pool up resources to implement the initiative, forming a concerted effort to promote S&T advancement at the national, provincial, prefectural, and county levels.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance will jointly work on an S&T information service network at the county and township level. On the one hand, integration of advanced and proven technical information will be made at the national, ministerial and provincial levels, in an attempt to establish a comprehensive S&T information database accessible to grassroots, and realize nationwide technical information sharing. On the other hand, efforts will be made to construct an S&T information platform at the county and township level, especially in less developed areas. Efforts will also be made to integrate the existing specialized information networks, realizing the connectivity between S&T information networks and technical databases at the national and local levels, taking advantage of the role of technology information. S&T service network will further extend to the county level, and to townships, villages, major enterprises or special households, when conditions permit. |
