Science, one of the world's most influential scientific
research journals, opened its Asia news bureau in Beijing on
Thursday, in an effort to expand its coverage of China's rapidly
developing science and technology.
"Our new bureau attests to the rapidly growing influence of
China as a world leader in science," said Richard Stone,
Science Magazine's Asia editor. "It will allow us to expand
our coverage and hopefully bring our readers more incisive and
analytical coverage of developments in China."
The magazine has seen a sharp increase in the number of research
papers submitted by Chinese scientists working in China. Previously
the majority of Chinese scientists carrying out the research were
based overseas.
"I can feel the energy and vitality of China's scientific
community, and it seems to me that Chinese scientists are better
integrated into the international community compared with
scientists in Southeast Asia," said Stone, who worked in Bangkok
for two years before moving to Beijing this year.
The magazine has roughly doubled the number of its China news
pages in the past two years to help its readers learn more about
science in China, he said.
Science has published several features about China this
year, covering issues such as the country's plans to establish
major scientific research facilities, the huge south-to-north water
transfer project and Chinese scientists' efforts to understand and
mitigate dust storms.
Some international science journals, including Nature,
have based their Asia headquarters in Tokyo. "But I personally feel
that, as a journalist, the pace of change in China makes it more
interesting to be based here," said Stone.
He hopes the bureau will provide a platform for experts with the
magazine to come to China and write about specific aspects of
development.
"We will also try to invite more top science writers from within
China to freelance for us so that we can get more interesting
stories about the country," he added.
The American journal Science, which was established by Thomas
Edison in 1880 and has been sponsored by the world's largest
non-government science organization, the American Association of
Advanced Science (AAAS) since 1900, enjoys a readership of around 1
million for both its print and online editions.
The former chief editor of Science Ellis Rubinstein interviewed
China's former president Jiang Zemin in May 2000. The following
month, Jiang later wrote an editorial titled "Science in China" for
the magazine.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)
