Science: A New Long March for China

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By measuring tiny distortions in large aluminum cylinders — deflections that may be caused by cataclysmic events in the heavens — they hope to achieve a goal whose proof has so far eluded Western scientists: unambiguously detecting the gravitational waves forecast by Einstein's general theory of relativity. Why is a nation still struggling to meet basic needs investing precious yuans and talent in such far-out endeavors? Explained Fang Yi: "We consider basic research fundamental to all scientific progress."

Fang Yi and his colleagues have set difficult goals for a country that still relies heavily on human sweat. In the cities, women sweep the streets with brooms they make out of straw. In the countryside, road crews work with pick and shovel; when steamrollers are available, they are usually fuming, coal-burning monsters. Despite the vaunted Chinese emphasis on the dignity of the masses, produce is still conveyed by pedal-powered carts carrying burdens several times heavier than their human engines.

Where China has industrialized, it has been at a price. Peking and other cities reek from the effusion of belching smokestacks. Water pollution is so serious a problem that no one drinks unboiled water. Doctors report increases in the rates of cardiovascular and lung diseases, as well as cancer, all of which may have some environmental origin.

Yet for all the backwardness, China has been drastically reshaped since the Communists took over 30 years ago. No longer do people starve by the millions or die of such blights as smallpox, syphilis or malaria. Medical care is available to everyone, and by a combination of propaganda, pay supplements, and free birth-control devices, China seems to be making some headway in its efforts to halt its ruinous population growth, by limiting couples to only two children.

So despite the tremendous odds, the Chinese may yet succeed in closing the gap. As Chairman Hua told his nation's technocrats last year, "Facts past and present show that we Chinese too have a head and two hands and are no stupider than other people."