Science academy vows to promote progress

Highest academic institution urges members to transform China into a technological powerhouse. Zhang Zhihao reports.

In September last year, despite having serious heart disease, Shao Ming'an, a noted geophysicist and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, asked his doctor to unclip his heart monitor and other medical equipment so he could leave the hospital temporarily.

Shao wanted to advise his new PhD students on their admission reports. After two hours interacting cheerfully with the students, Shao returned to the hospital exhausted but fulfilled. None of the students knew he was seriously ill.