Sand technology

China has developed an advanced sand-solidifying technology which will be used along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to protect the highest railway in the world from the ravages of the desert.

The development, named "OH sand-solidifying and foliage-planting technology", is being tested in Qinghai, a sand eroded province in northwest China, a local scientist said.

"The main part of the technological development is a special kind of sand-solidifying drug," said Li Runjie, chief of the project under the Qinghai Provincial Water Conservancy and Hydropower Scientific Research Institute.

According to the experiment, after sowing grass seeds, pouring water and fertilizer into a plot of sand, the treatment was sprayed on the sand surface. In one to two hours, the sand became solid. Grass grew out of the solid sand in about 15 days.

"The chemical treatment, which is able to solidify the sand into a rubber-like solid earth, has no poisonous or harmful elements," the expert claims.

Telecom patents

The telecommunication industry, with the proportion of 10.5 percent, has become the largest sector for patent applications in the world, according to 2007 International Patent Application Statistics promulgated by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). And China's telecommunication industry ranked the seventh in the world with an annual increase of 38.1 percent.

As of the end of 2007, China's telecommunication giant ZTE filed more than 1,300 international patent applications and possessed over 10 thousand invention patents. According to the Chief Intellectual Property Officer of ZTE Guo Xiaoming, the Shenzhen-based company is the leader in patent numbers and proportion of invention patents.

ZTE has achieved major breakthroughs in 3G, NGN (next generation network) and IPTV Chinese manufacturers with ZTE as a representative have even outstripped some European and American manufacturers.

Sino-Singapore IDM pact

China and Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Singapore recently to promote collaborations in interactive digital media (IDM) technology research and development.

The MoU will pave the way for both countries to strengthen their IDM technology capabilities through training and information exchanges, said a joint statement.

Under the deal, the two sides will match and facilitate efforts by institutes of higher learning, research institutes and companies from both countries to participate in IDM technology research and development projects.

The deal will also seek to facilitate joint marketing of IDM technology products.

Singapore's Media Development Authority also signed a deal with China's Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality to develop cross-border, online digital media test-beds to test prototypes for emerging interactive new media services and technology.

Online safety

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a non-profitable organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, has launched an educational website (www.b4usurf.org) to provide educators and parents with information to help youths understand the dangers that exist online and to surf safely and responsibly. Tips are also available for youths.

Zhang Quansheng, director of BSA China said among Chinese netizens, students or youths account for as high as 28.8 percent. Many are exposed to pirated, illegal and unhealthy online content. "Our goal is to help teach young people about cyber-ethics and cyber-safety, even as they immerse themselves in the cyber world," said Zhang.

The website was also launched in English versions in major Asian regions including Singapore and China's Taiwan province.

(China Daily 03/24/2008 page9)

2013-07-17