|
Beijing aims for a high-tech Olympics
By Fu Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-11-05 22:26
Chinese scientists are working towards breakthroughs to help participants of
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games breathe fresh air, eat healthy food, travel
quickly, stay safe and even assist Chinese athletes earn more medals.
A top-level consulting team of 400-odd senior scientists and engineers will
focus on 449 projects aimed at making the Beijing Games a festival of
high-technology.
Du Zhanyuan, planning official with the Ministry of Science and Technology
said 1.3 billion yuan (US$157 million) of government funds and 1.8 billion yuan
(US$217 million) from companies has been channeled into 449 science and
technology projects prepared for the Olympics.
Breakthroughs have already been made in making Olympic construction sites
greener and more energy efficient, as well as the development of electric cars,
which are expected to hit the market in 2012.
To achieve China's ambitious high-tech goals, Du's ministry and the Beijing
Olympic Games Organizing Committee on Friday organized an international forum
attended by more than 350 participants from governmental and research
organizations and companies.
Experts said that the focus should be on long-term approaches.
"I think the key is that these technologies should serve the Olympics, but
not just for the Games," Zhang Jianyu, a visiting scholar with the School of
Public Management of Tsinghua University told China Daily.
He expected these technologies, which should help realize China's goal of
becoming a well-off society, to not become one-off novelties.
"The Olympics can provide a great platform for innovation, so we should have
long-sighted stances," said Zhang, also head of the Beijing Office of the
US-based non-governmental environmental organization, Environmentaldefense.
Echoing Zhang's views, Jiang Yi, professor with Tsinghua's School of
Architecture said the Olympics should become a drive for the healthy development
of society, instead of a heavy economic burden which could block economic and
social development.
"We should especially focus on Olympic construction projects and the
realization of greener Olympic buildings," said Jiang.
Jiang said the government has already unveiled a green Olympic building
assessment system, which aims to create a building environment with the least
resource consumption and best environmental protection.
Xu Guanhua, minister of science and technology, said technology should play a
bigger role in reducing costs and saving money for the Beijing Olympics.
"We are going to stage a wonderful but money-saving event in the summer of
2008 and sophisticated technologies are expected to meet the challenges," said
Xu.
To help reduce risks and control costs, the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) suggested that Chinese organizers learn from international experiences.
On Friday, organizing and science officials and Chinese researchers heard
ideas from authorities from the Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics.
"China should not only use proven solutions but also follow the main
evolution of technologies," said Philippe Verveer, director of the IOC
Department of Technology. He added that technology is present everywhere behind
the scenes during the Olympic Games as well as in the seven years of preparation
leading up to the event.
He said technology covers a large range of areas like timing, information
systems, telecommunications and energy as well as video and audio systems for
security.
|
