Britain’s national academy of science, the Royal Society, underlined hopes for scientific cooperation with China in awarding its most overtly political medal to Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
Wen, who trained as a geologist before a three-decade career in politics, was on his fourth visit to the UK. Today, shortly after signing off on trade deals worth £1.4 billion between China and Britain, he was presented with the King Charles II medal, which is given to foreign heads of state or government who have made an “outstanding contribution to furthering scientific research in their country”. The medal has been given out only three times before: last year to Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel; in 2007 to India’s former president A P J Abdul Kalam, and in 1998 to emperor Akihito of Japan.
Paul Nurse, the Royal Society’s president, said that in China, Wen had overseen “one of the most ambitious national research investment programmes the world had ever seen”. China’s government investment on research and development has reached nearly US$100 billion in the last 5 years, Wen said, and currently stands at 1.75% of GDP. The nation’s current Five Year Plan projects that rising to 2.2% by 2015, with energy and environmental concerns high on the agenda.
Wen’s medal speech was, said Nurse afterwards, “encouraging and heartening”. The Chinese premier said his country needed to create a freer academic atmosphere, and added that in talking to China’s scientists he had encouraged innovation, risk-taking, tolerating failure and stimulating academic debate. Like Nurse, he wanted more exchanges of top-level talent between China and the UK, and more cooperation between the nations’ research companies and institutions. (Nurse took a small dig at the United States’ recent restrictions on negotiations with China’s scientists by noting that the Royal Society “rejects the barriers that some countries are placing to reduce scientific co-operation”).
For the dozens of protesters gathered outside the Royal Society’s gates, the most pressing question was China’s record on human rights. On this, as on science and economic development, Wen made no specific promises. But, he said, he hoped a future China could “fully achieve democracy”, with a more open and inclusive society with conditions where people could “criticize government”. Speech delivered, he was driven away without taking questions.
The Royal Society has posted audio and video of Nurse’s and Wen’s speeches online.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.