China cements place in scientific elite

The country has taken a range of measures to ensure development and provide breakthroughs. Zhang Zhihao reports.

On March 31, 1978, an 86-year-old man wracked with pneumonia made his final public appearance in front of a packed audience at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

He was too ill to read his speech, so an announcer read it on his behalf. No matter - the 1,750-word address opened a new age for China's scientific development. The elderly scientist died just three months later.