Highlights of first «passage interviews» by China's national political advisers
Before or after plenary meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference journalists have opportunity to take "passage interviews".
Passage interviews got their name because they usually take place on walkways leading to the main hall of the Great Hall of the People, chinadaily.com.cn reports.
Here are the highlights from first "passage interviews":
5G smartphones set for mass adoption by 2020: Zhang Yunyong
Smartphones capable of delivering 5G speeds will be available in the second half of this year, and 5G smartphones are set for mass adoption in early 2020, said Zhang Yunyong, national political adviser and president of the China Unicom Research Institute.
Lunar program designer says probe working well: Wu Weiren
Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and a national political adviser, told reporters that status of China's Chang'e 4 unmanned lunar probe, which consists of a lander and a robotic rover, was good and it was working well after a second dormancy period on the lunar surface.
The rover, named Yutu 2, or Jade Rabbit 2, is moving northwestward toward rough terrain.
The Chang'e 5 robotic lunar probe will be launched around the end of this year and will bring samples back to Earth. If the mission is successful, China, he said, will become the third nation, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to bring lunar soil to Earth.
The scientist also added that the country plans to launch its first Mars probe in 2020.
China playing key global role in fighting disease: Margaret Chan
China has played a key role in safeguarding global health and tackling infectious diseases, Margaret Chan, a national political adviser said.
In the age of globalization, infectious diseases are spreading at faster rates due to increasing exchanges, human mobility and global trade, Chan, president of the Boao Global Health Forum and former director-general of the World Health Organization, said.
It is vital to establish emergency response mechanisms, including a set of effective prevention and control measures, to cope with sudden outbreaks of contagious ailments, such as avian influenza, SARS and the Ebola fever, Chen said.
China to build first 'medical school of cultural relics': Song Jirong
The Palace Museum in Beijing is working with universities to build China's first "medical school of cultural relics" and develop talent to protect and restore national treasures, says Song Jirong, national political adviser and deputy director of the museum.
Top technology cannot be imported, can only be created at home: Shi Yigong
Cutting-edge and core technology cannot be imported, it can only be created by Chinese people themselves, Shi Yigong, a leading scientist and president of Westlake University told reporters.
"China's higher education has made a great leap, while it is still lagging behind in some basic research areas. There's still some breakthroughs to be made and some demands from society to be met," he said. "So we need to nurture more outstanding talent with creativity."
Rising numbers of finless porpoises show Yangtze water quality improving: Pan Biling
Finless porpoises - known in China as water pandas due to their rarity - have seen their numbers surge to about 1,000 in the Yangtze River thanks to improvement in water quality in the country's longest water body, Pan Biling, deputy head of Hunan province's environmental watchdog told reporters.
Society must be engaged to tackle scourge of weak eyesight: Wang Ningli
Wang Ningli called for a national strategy and the involvement of the entire society on Sunday to curb the increasing rate of nearsightedness.
Wang Ningli, also head of the Ophthalmologic Center at Beijing Tongren Hospital, said that the success of myopia prevention efforts was in the participation of parents and society as a whole.
