The Yangtze River In Danger

Beijing Morning Post July 1

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The Yangtze River In Danger

Beijing Morning Post July 1

↑SCIENTIST MAKES THEORETICAL PHYSICS BREAKTHROUGH

Physicist Jia Jinfeng， along with his team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University， has unveiled the mystery surrounding Majorana fermions， a very peculiar type of particle that is considered as a potential candidate for dark matter， to help humans understand more about the universe， and to help scientists build quantum computers.

The discovery was published in the renowned scientifc journal Physical Review Letters in late June.

The hunt for the Majorana fermions has transfxed physicists worldwide for nearly 80 years， ever since the particle was mentioned by Italian theoretical physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937. The discovery in China provides a straightforward way to observe the elusive particles for the frst time.

Jia， 50， received a PhD in physics from Peking University in 1992. After graduation， he worked for Japanese and American research institutes for fve years and is now a professor at the Physics and Astronomy Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Home to more than 400，000 chemical enterprises and 46 percent of China's chemical production， the Yangtze River valley is beset by a rapidly deteriorating ecological system， as factories and industrial parks spread along its banks， stealthily discharging waste and polluting the water.

While some companies spend heavily on waste water treatment， others pursue extensive development and discharge sewage recklessly，regardless of pollution control standards. In the end， both treated and untreated waste water are discharged into the Yangtze and end up incorporated into the diet of local people.

Some short-sighted local governments locate chemical industries downstream of their cities on the Yangtze， calling this “comprehensive pollution management” but pollute the water that flows through cities further along the river. Sewage outlets are like time bombs installed along the Yangtze，endangering water supplies for production and daily life as well as the entire ecological system.

Environmental protection of the Yangtze River requires national effort and should be prioritized as part of the government's strategic plans.

Driving polluting enterprises out is not the ultimate goal. Cities should control total capacity and come up with rational industrial layouts based on zoning according to function， pushing companies to reduce emissions through technological upgrading and transformation. In addition to shutting down outdated companies with high emissions， those that had caused heavy pollution should be held accountable legally.

“The new method of calculating GDP will better reflect the contribution of innovation to economic growth， and help pump more investment into R&D.”

Cheng Zilin， a National Bureau of Statistics offcial，commenting on the new method for GDP calculations adopted in July. The adjustment was made according to the 2008 System of National Accounts released by fve international organizations， including the UN

“We hope that we can let Chinese filmmakers shoot an Italian production in a Chinese way to find something new.”

Roberto Stabile， an executive at the Italian National Association of Cinematographic，Audiovisual and Multimedia Industries， speaking about the association's plan to set up a permanent offce in Beijing during a recent visit to China