Wen Jiabao (温家宝), the Chairman of the State Council of the Peoples’ Republic of China (often translated as “Prime Minister”) wrote an editorial for the October 31 edition of the magazine “Science”.
The article is called “Science and China’s Modernization”. It is interesting, because it shows China’s leadership view on science and technology and the role they want it to play in the Chinese society.
Wen Jiabao starts by stating that “China is now engaged in a modernization drive unprecedented in the history of humankind”. By modernization, Wen means scientific and technological advancement. By historically unprecedented, I presume he means the speed of the Chinese modernization: European’s “Scientific Revolution” lasted for about three centuries.
When explaining the role of science and technology, Wen refers to sixteenth century English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon who saw science as a mean to improve mankind’s destiny. It comes clear when reading Premier Wen’s article, that science has to fulfil this role under the guidance of the political apparatus.
Wen also stresses the role of the state in creating the ideal conditions for the development of a “scientific culture”. This scientific culture should not be aimed against China’s traditional culture. The scientific culture should rather be a mean to revive Chinese culture.
The fact that science has no boundaries and that China has to find its place within the global scientific community is also mentioned.
What transpires from Wen Jiabao’s editorial is the positivist view Chinese leadership has on science and technology. Science is viewed as a synonym of progress and modernity. Science’s role is to help humanity tackle its challenges (unsurprisingly Wen mentions energy resources and the protection of the environment as future challenges). This is of course true. But there is no mention of the fact that science can also be disconcerting; that sometimes a new discovery creates more questions than answers. It shows that China (or at least its leaders) is quickly becoming a modern country; but not yet a postmodern one.
The second thing that I find interesting is the leading role that Wen ascribes to the state: it is the role of the state to have a scientific policy and create the right conditions for the development of science and technology. This is of course no surprise, since the Chinese government has interventionist policies in almost all domains.
You can find Wen Jiabao’s full text here.
