President Lu Yongxiang Meets Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science

On May 31, Lu Yongxiang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress and President of CAS, met Van der Hoeven, the visiting Netherlands' Minister of Education, Culture and Science and her entourage, in Beijing.

President Lu said that Holland is an important partner of China in science and technology. The Dutch Royal Society has long been cooperating with CAS. He stressed that the joint training of students for doctorates should be combined with cooperative projects to help promote cooperation between the two sides. Van der Hoeven agreed with President Lu and said that substantial achievements have been made in some of the joint projects, which have thus become apotheosis for future bilateral cooperation.

President Lu Yongxiang Meets Director of UN Millennium Program

Lu Yongxiang, Co-Chair of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and President of CAS, held talks with Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the UN Millennium Program and Director of the Institute of Earth Science of' the Columbia University and his entourage on June 23 in Beijing.

Experts from WDC Speak Highly of Chinese Discipline Centers

On July 4-8, 2005, a group of 9 experts from WDC (the World Data Centers) paid a visit to Beijing, Tianjin and Lanzhou respectively to make in situ inspection and evaluation on the 9 existing discipline centers in China and 2 candidate centers.

After specific inspection on the centers, the experts expressed that China had made inspiring achievements in this field in the past few years, and that the majority of the Chinese centers had reached the corresponding standard of WDC. They convinced that the Chinese centers are now capable to play a more effective leading role in the development of WDC in Asia and even in the world.

Lu Yongxiang Hands Over Tsunami DNA Data to Thailand

On July 1, Premier Wen Jiabao met the Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was on a visit to China, in the Great Hall of the People. After the meeting, on behalf of the Chinese Government, Lu Yongxiang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress and President of CAS, handed over to the Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Preecha Laohapongchana the test data of DNA samples of the victims who died during the massive tsunami around the Indian Ocean. At the end of 2004, the tsunami, the most serious disaster in history, hit the Indian Ocean, after which, CAS sent a Technological Aid Group of five for Tsunami DNA Identification to Thailand to help identify the individual victims and provide DNA testing.

Symposium to Mark 70 th Anniversary of Efforts by Peng Huanwu on Physics

On June 3, CAS held a symposium in the Tsinghua University to commemorate the 70 th anniversary and the 90 th birthday of Prof. Peng Huangwu, physicist and senior member of CAS, for his devotion to physics for 70 years.

As student of Mr. Peng Huanwu, Zhou Guangzhao, member of CAS, made a speech first at the meeting. He made the point that Prof. Peng Huanwu is the vanguard of the research in theoretical physics in China and can be rated as an undisputable founder in this field. Li Jinghai, member of CAS, read the letter of congratulation by Lu Yongxiang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress and President of CAS, to commemorate his 70 th anniversary of his devotion to physics and his 90 th birthday.

Prof. Peng Huanwu walked in a very pleasant manner onto the platform and delivered a lecture entitled the General Theory of Relativity_a Stimulating Theory. He explained to the audience, in his characteristic remarks with full of literary grace, how he had learned and applied the General Theory of Relativity to solve one issue after another, such as the structure of substance, the way of existence of substance and the formation of the universe. He also assessed the future and development of the general theory of relativity.

Bai Chunli Meets Nominated Leader of European Fusion Development Agreement

On June 29, Bai Chunli, Executive Vice President of CAS, held talks with Prof. Minh Quang Tran, Director of the Swiss Plasma Physics Research Centre and nominated leader of the European Fusion Development Agreement, and his entourage at the Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) CAS, in Hefei. Prof. Minh Quang Tran briefed on the present situation and future plan for the development of fusion, which is under the umbrella of consideration on energy resources in Europe as a whole. Bai Chunli expressed to the guests that the research on energy resources is to be an important research orientation for CAS.