CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, November 3, 2020 | 5 CHINA Internet forum to Welcome to Wuhan Economists focus on COVID19 talk about
By CAO YIN “The release of the technological challenges [email protected] achievements and two subforums — ‘youth and the digital future’ and The COVID19 pandemic has led ‘innovation and breakthroughs in of pandemic to the World Internet Conference in the industrial internet’ — will be Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, being offered through livestreaming plat By ZHANG YANGFEI in Shanghai replaced by a twoday Internet forms,” Zhao said. “People can also [email protected] Development Forum to be held watch internet experts’ speeches both online and offline from Nov 23 online.” The COVID19 pandemic has to 24, organizers said on Monday. He said a number of internet accelerated digitalization of produc “We’ve changed this year’s World related reports will be issued this tion processes but will not reverse Internet Conference to a twoday year, including the China Internet economic globalization, experts forum, adjusting the number of Development Report 2020, the said at the third World Laureates guests coming to Wuzhen and World Internet Development Forum in Shanghai. streamlining activities,” Zhao Report 2020 and Wuzhen Outlook The threeday forum, which con Zeliang — deputy head of the 2020. cluded on Sunday, gathered nearly Cyberspace Administration of Chi While looking at internet growth 140 world scientific award winners, na, the country’s top internet regu and technological innovations, the including 61 Nobel Prize laureates lator — said at a news conference documents will also focus on the and more than 30 Chinese academi held by the State Council Informa pandemic. Wuzhen Outlook 2020 cians, to discuss — in person and tion Office in Beijing. will address the global fight against Foreign visitors view cultural relics at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, Hubei province, on virtually — a wide range of scientific “Guests going to Wuzhen to par the pandemic and concentrate on Sunday. The city government has initiated a program to invite foreigners in China to visit Wuhan, frontiers, including quantum phys ticipate in the conference will be building a community with a shared hoping to showcase its achievement in fighting COVID19 and boost its rebuilding after the pandemic. ics, brain science and biomedicine. limited due to the outbreak, but future in cyberspace, Zhao added. A group of 42 foreigners, all of whom work in Beijing, visited places like the museum and Jiqing Street, Scientists praised the successful we’ll make full use of internet tech Zhu Guoxian, director of the Pub a tourist area famous for local snacks and folk art. HU JIUSI / FOR CHINA DAILY event, saying it helped maintain a nologies to help more people access licity Department of the Zhejiang smooth channel for international our activities online.” Provincial Committee of the Com scientific communications during With the theme “digital empow munist Party of China, said preven the pandemic. erment creates a better tomorrow: tion and control measures will be “China is probably the only coun building a community with a carried out to ensure the safety of try able to host such an event,” said shared future in cyberspace”, the guests in Wuzhen. Roger Kornberg, a biochemist from main forum focused on science The number of internet users in the United States who won the based preventive measures in China had reached 940 million by Hybrid rice varieties Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2006 response to COVID19 and innova June, accounting for a fifth of the and addressed the forum via video tiondriven development will open world’s total, the China Internet link. “The challenges of bringing on Nov 23, with five subforums to Network Information Center said together 137 laureates of various be held the following day, organiz in September. prizes as well as a very large number ers said. The internet penetration rate in return record yield of other participants and young More than a dozen cuttingedge China was 67 percent, about 5 per people is a logistical nightmare and internet scientific and technologi centage points higher than the really almost impossible to accom cal achievements in fields including global average, it said, adding that Fields planted with the latest strains quality, resilience to unfavorable plish. And yet, the leaders of this basic internet theories, business various cyber services, including weather conditions and relatively effort in China have succeeded and models and industrial applications, online education, medical consul produce almost 23 tons a hectare easy breeding methods, Li Xinqi. done a brilliant job.” will be released at the forum after tation and remoteoffice facilities, head of the research team, said. Facing the grim global economic being reviewed and recommended had developed rapidly during the By WANG XIAOYU in Beijing hybrid varie “For singlecropping, lateseason climate, the event included a sub by about 40 experts, they said. pandemic. and FENG ZHIWEI in Changsha ties in the mar rice, it is rare to see an average yield forum that brought four winners of ket, the of more than 11 tons per hectare, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Eco Chinese scientists have achieved average yield but the average yield of a small nomic Sciences together via an a record rice yield of almost 23 met for the third scale planting of the strain last year online conference to address the Flower tea harvest ric tons per hectare from an experi generation exceeded 15 tons per hectare, issue of economic challenges. mental field of hybrid rice in strain is 10 to prompting us to aim for higher Christopher Pissarides, a profes Hunan province, the China Nation 20 percent production this year,” he said. sor at the London School of Eco al Hybrid Rice Research and Devel Yuan Longping, higher — an Sanyou No 1 is also prized for its nomics who won the economics opment Center said. the “father of increase of fast growth. prize in 2010, said the longterm Experts gathered in Hunan’s hybrid rice”, about 1.5 tons “Rice seeds in Hengnan county implications of COVID19 will Hengnan county announced on celebrates the per hectare — were planted on June 16 and began reshape work arrangements and Monday that the average yield recordbreak Yuan said. earring up on Aug 30, which is sur global economic structures. from fields planted with the third ing harvest of a “There are prisingly fast,” Li said. It has already accelerated auto generation of hybrid rice varieties hybrid strain in 16.7 million He said the strain also withstood mation and digitalization, reducing had reached 13.68 tons per hectare. Hunan province, hectares of the test of extreme weather that reliance on human labor and halt In July, early harvests from the on Monday. hybrid rice lasted more than a month in Hu ing job creation in services, especial same field growing another strain of ZHU XINGXIN / fields in China. nan, with weaker sunlight and sig ly those involving persontoperson thirdgeneration hybrid rice yielded CHINA DAILY The new nificantly heavier and longer interactions, he said, and will lead to an average of 9.29 tons per hectare. strain, if plant rainfall than usual. more job losses in the near future. Despite unfavorable weather ed nationwide, will significantly The previous record for yields of With more work done at home or conditions this year, the two har boost overall rice production,” he hybrid rice developed by Yuan and remotely, the future job market will vests combined — consisting of said. his team, about 17.24 tons per hec give more weight to expertise in dig earlyseason and lateseason crops “The next goal is to promote the tare, was set in Hebei province in ital technologies and probably A farmer lays out chrysanthemum harvested on a mountain in — surpassed 22.5 tons per hectare, experiences of Hengnan county October 2017. require workers to engage in life Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Monday. Gaohongzhen village in realizing the goal set earlier this and plant the advanced rice variety China has attached paramount long learning of new digital tech the city started to plant chrysanthemum in 2017 to take advantage year by renowned agricultural in other riceproducing regions in significance to ensuring food secu niques. New elements, such as the of its popularity as a flower tea. The village expects a harvest of expert Yuan Longping, who has China, contributing to safeguard rity and selfsufficiency in grain ability to trade online and provide more than 5 metric tons this year. LIN YUNLONG / FOR CHINA DAILY spearheaded research into hybrid ing the country’s food security.” production. healthy environments, will also rice strains. The center said research teams Despite the impact of the COV become important, Pissarides said. Yuan said on Monday the fresh headed by Yuan began cultivating ID19 pandemic and severe flood As the acceleration of automation record means a 1hectare hybrid rice and selecting thirdgeneration rice ing in summer, this year’s grain will never be reversed, and job crea field can feed as many as 75 people. varieties in 2011 and started trial production is expected to hit a tion in services may come back only Gang leader sentenced “I am more than excited and planting in 2017. record high and exceed 650 million very slowly after the end of the pan extremely satisfied with the results,” More pilot bases will be set up in tons for the sixth year in a row, the demic, he said employers will need he said in an office in Changsha, eight provinciallevel regions start Ministry of Agriculture and Rural to consider retraining employees to death in Qinghai capital of Hunan province, while ing next year, it added. Affairs said. with skills that are more adaptable watching a live video feed of the The rice strain of the crops har to the postCOVID job market. announcement ceremony. vested on Monday — Sanyou No 1 Contact the writers at Another big issue related to By YANG ZEKUN Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefec Compared with other highyield — is known for its high yields and [email protected] increasing automation is the widen [email protected] ture, seriously disrupting economic ing of the gap between the rich and and social order, the court said. the poor, said Norwegian economist A court in Qinghai province sen Since 2000, the gang’s members Finn Kydland, who won the 2004 tenced a leader of a mafiastyle had caused one death, two serious economics prize. The economic gang to death on Friday for more injuries and nine slight injuries, it Farmers’ goal now quality not quantity downturn has not affected all sec than 10 crimes, including inten said. tors, and the pandemic has hit peo tional homicide, and handed 38 In April 2002, Ma Cheng and HARBIN — Zhou Houchao, a As head of a local cooperative in lower temperatures and cold well ple with low wages and low skills other gang members prison terms five other gang members kid 52yearold farmer in Heilongjiang Suibin county, Hegang, Zhou took water for irrigation, Wen couldn’t much harder than those earning ranging from two years to life. napped and beat businessman Ma province, has finally welcomed a the lead in pursuing innovation in grow better rice varieties before high incomes, he said. The Hainan Tibetan Autono Shengzhen to death, then buried harvest despite the COVID19 pan agricultural development. this year. Faced with such a disparity, mous Prefecture Intermediate his body under the embankment demic, typhoons and other difficul Some ducks wandered in the But during this farming season a Kydland said many European coun People’s Court sentenced gang of a section of national route 109. ties. yard of the cooperative. newly built irrigation project has tries have simply given direct subsi leader Ma Cheng to death for kill The public security department But for Zhou and many farmers, “These ducks live on the rice given Wen’s fields access to nearby dies to the most affected industries ing and burying a man alongside a in Qinghai formed a working a harvest is not their final goal. fields in spring and summer, and river water, which is not as cold as to try to maintain employment, but national road on Riyue Mountain, group to deal with the gang in Goodquality rice is what they are their excrement can increase well water, making it possible to such measures are very expensive Qinghai, 18 years ago, as well as August 2018 that included officers after nowadays, with production organic soil matter,” Zhou said. grow more varieties of rice. and not sustainable. other crimes. from different departments. and filling one’s stomach no longer “In the rice fields this year, I As one of the first farmers to use Governments should also make Another gang leader, Zhang In April 2019, police discovered the top priority. raised fish, ducks and crabs, river water for irrigation, Wen sure capital is available and well Chenghu, was sentenced to life clues about Ma Shengzhen’s death China’s rice planting areas which is part of organic farming planted some 47 hectares of rice. distributed to families and small imprisonment. during a threeyear campaign account for 20 percent of the and can effectively improve the Because it was of good quality, he and mediumsized businesses to The pair were also deprived of against organized crime launched world’s total, and annual output quality of rice.” was able to earn 3,000 yuan more support their return to normal their political rights for life and the previous year. has remained above 200 million Besides more than 20 hectares of per hectare. activity because they will play a key had all their property confiscated An officer in charge of the work metric tons for years, comprising fields with ducks, Zhou also put The third Heilongjiang Interna role in future employment, said US for committing more than 10 ing group said police went to the nearly 40 percent of global rice out crabs and fish in over 47 hectares of tional Rice Festival was held last economist Lars Peter Hansen, who crimes including organizing, lead mountain nearly 100 times in three put. paddies. month, with 1,381 enterprises from won the economics prize in 2013. ing and participating in mafia months, searching for Ma In the past, China solved the “The yield of organic planting is 13 countries and regions taking Hansen said the response to the style gangs, intentional homicide, Shengzhen’s buried body along problem of feeding some 1.4 billion lower, and weeding is required, but part and concluding deals worth 1.7 second wave of the pandemic is all intentional injury and operating more than 40 kilometers of road. people. Now the pursuit of quality such rice is in short supply in the billion yuan. about the tradeoff between treating casinos. Using police dogs, satellite images is driving more farmers to change market, with the income increased Known as China’s “grain barn”, the disease and maintaining eco Thirtyseven other gang mem and construction drawings of the their traditional planting and man by about 3,000 yuan ($450) per Heilongjiang boasts the country’s nomic activities. bers received prison terms ranging route to narrow the search, they agement methods. hectare,” he said. largest rice, corn and bean planting When a government opts for a from two years to 23 years. found his remains on Oct 7 last year. A rice farmer for more than 30 At a farm near the Nongjiang areas. Data from the provincial lockdown, the economic structure The gang used violence and The group collected about 220 years, Zhou said he overused pesti River in the east of the province, agriculture department shows the and development will inevitably be threats to control private gold min clues and has filed 66 cases since cides and fertilizers in the past to Wen Xuequan successfully area planted with grain this year affected, irrespective of the govern ing, illegal commercial car opera 2018, and 126 people involved in boost yields, but the soil was hard improved the quality of his rice this reached 14.37 million hectares, an ment’s experience in dealing with tions and slaughterhouses in the those cases were arrested in prov ened and organic matter was lost, year. increase of over 33,000 hectares the first outbreak, he said, adding Chengdong and Huangzhong dis inces including Hainan and Hubei, so he could not sell his rice at a “The climate conditions were from last year. that the world economy is still at a tricts of Xining, Qinghai’s provincial and the Xinjiang Uygur autono competitive price because of its not suitable for growing highqual “very difficult stage”, with a success capital, and Qumarleb county in mous region. compromised quality. ity rice in the past,” he said. Due to XINHUA ful vaccine far down the road.