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S. Korea’s bird flu battle at critical juncture (nationthailand.com)

S. Korea’s bird flu battle at critical juncture

Dec 15. 2020A truck disinfects the surrounding area of a duck farm in Jangseong, 308 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap) 

By The Korea Herald/ANN

South Korea’s agricultural ministry said Tuesday the number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases from local poultry farms may continue to rise down the road due to seasonal migratory birds, urging farmers to beef up preventive measures against the contagious animal disease.

“As migratory birds will continue to flock into the country through January, local poultry farms are currently at a critical juncture,” the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

South Korea has reported 13 highly pathogenic bird flu cases from poultry farms so far this year, while three other suspected cases are currently under investigation.

After reporting the first farm-related case on Nov. 26, the virus has spread throughout the nation, with infections being reported from various provinces, with South Jeolla Province alone adding five cases.

In line with efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, the country has culled more than 5 million poultry from infected farms, as well as the surrounding areas, including 3.23 million chickens and 880,000 ducks.

Local authorities slaughtered poultry within a 3-kilometer radius of infected farms.

“As wild animals, including rats, can carry contaminants, farmers should thoroughly block them from entering their farms,” the ministry added.

South Korea said it will slap fines on farms that fail to follow preventive measures.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is contagious and can cause severe illness and even death in poultry.

The country reported its first highly pathogenic case in 32 months in late October in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, from wild birds.

Since then, a total of 27 cases have been found from wild bird habitats across the country, according to the ministry. Nine other suspected cases are currently under investigation. (Yonhap)

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Beijing firms up its ambitions in technology and innovation (nationthailand.com)

Beijing firms up its ambitions in technology and innovation

Dec 15. 2020A volunteer wears a hat mounted with a flexible display during the ZGC Forum in Beijing on Sept 17. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn] 

By Zhang Zhihao
China Daily/ANN

Officials and experts predict more policy support and investment in various fields

Beijing aims to become a global science, technology and innovation hub by 2025 by providing more incentives for frontier sciences, attracting more global talent, enhancing intellectual property protection and increasing support for small tech ventures, officials and experts said.

Research fields including artificial intelligence, quantum science, medical science, block chain, information technology, the internet of things, materials science, space technology and renewable energy will see more policy support and investment in the nation’s capital, they added.

National planners hope to turn Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into global science and technology innovation centers, according to the proposals for formulating China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.

Cai Qi, Beijing’s Party chief, told experts at a symposium on Beijing’s development in October that the capital will be more open, more innovative and more supportive of tech companies.

Building new infrastructure for artificial intelligence, 5G telecommunication, the industrial internet and internet of things and other major fields will be a priority, which will lay the foundation for upgrading the city’s future industries, he said.

Xu Qiang, director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, said this month that Beijing has several advantages that will help it become a global science, technology and innovation hub.

Sui Zhenjiang, vice-mayor of Beijing, said during the Second World Science and Technology Development Forum early last month that the 3,000-year-old city boasts the most scientific talent and resources in the country, as well as having a rich culture of international cooperation, encouraging innovations and tolerating failures.

In 2016, the State Council issued a plan for Beijing to become a national science and technology innovation center. By October last year, the municipality had implemented 30 new policies toward that goal, ranging from granting scientists more autonomy over research grants to streamlining visa applications for foreign scientists.

“Being the nation’s capital, Beijing has the responsibility, means, foundations and advantages to facilitate scientific and technological innovation and play its role in serving the nation’s modernization process,” Sui said.

Around half of the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering are stationed in Beijing, he said. The city is also home to one-third of China’s major scientific instruments, and around 357,000 researchers.

There are 185 researchers for every 10,000 employees in the city, a ratio on par with that of developed countries, he said. The city invests around 6 percent of its GDP in research and development, significantly higher than the average 2.5 percent benchmark for innovative countries, he added.

The World Intellectual Property Organization ranked Beijing this year as the world’s fourth-most-active science and technology cluster in terms of publishing and patent performance, behind Tokyo-Yokohama in first place, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou second, and Seoul third.

The Nature Index 2020 Science Cities, published in September, ranked Beijing as the top global science city for the third year in a row after factoring in the concentration of talent, funding, research institutions, and the quality of published scientific papers and international cooperation.

The city’s “three science cities and one hi-tech area” — Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, the Beijing Future Science Park and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area — have become major hubs for frontier research, Sui said.

About 183 multinational corporations, along with nearly 4,000 foreign companies and research institutions, have either established headquarters in Beijing or are collaborating with partners from the city, he said.

In that ecosystem of international cooperation, Zhongguancun stands out as the forerunner of China’s scientific reform and innovations for being the base for nearly 1,000 foreign companies, Sui added.

In 2018, Chinese scientists from the area published 14,074 papers as first authors with foreign peers, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the national total.

In the next few years, Beijing will attract more foreign talent, optimize planning for the science cities, provide more investment for basic research and incubate more innovative tech companies, Sui said.

Since 2018, Beijing has helped over 3,500 foreign scientists settle in the capital by providing better housing, insurance and educational opportunities for their children. Over 4,000 talented foreigners have been granted permanent resident status, making Beijing the first-choice destination for foreign researchers, he said.

The capital has established a fund of 30 billion yuan ($4.58 billion) to support innovation, provided 160 billion yuan in tax breaks for small and medium-sized companies, and streamlined government administration for science project applications and the procurement of research equipment, he said.

In terms of city planning, Zhongguancun will focus on basic and frontier sciences in key technological sectors, Sui said. Huairou will build more major scientific research infrastructure, with an emphasis on materials science, logistics, energy and space technology.

The Beijing Future Science Park will prioritize public health and biosciences research, as well as the commercialization of new technologies.

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area will aim to become a hub for high-end manufacturing, such as producing integrated circuits.

At the same time, Beijing will bolster intellectual property rights protection and related services, including harsher punishments for copyright infringements and allowing small tech companies to pledge their intellectual property for loans, Sui said.

Justin Yifu Lin, a senior economist and honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said in a seminar in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last week that innovation, collaboration, being green, openness and sharing are the five key characteristics of new development.

The combination of an effective market and a capable government to support businesses is instrumental in achieving quality economic growth, he added.

Yu Jian, deputy director of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s department of strategic planning, said at a seminar in Beijing in April hosted by the city’s science and technology commission that the capital should set its eyes on becoming a global science and technology center, and create an innovative ecosystem with international influence.

Liu Qiyan, deputy director of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China, said at the seminar that Beijing should enhance its ability to quantify and keep track of tech companies and their resources, and expand the influence of innovation to more local levels.

Li Guoping, president of the Beijing Development Institute at Peking University, said at the same event that innovation cannot do without industrialization, and Beijing’s path toward an innovation center will require support from various industries, especially high-end manufacturing.

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First shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Singapore by end-Dec; enough vaccines for all by Q3 2021 (nationthailand.com)

First shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Singapore by end-Dec; enough vaccines for all by Q3 2021

Dec 15. 2020

By Audrey Tan
The Straits Times/ANN

SINGAPORE – The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Singapore, with the first shipment of the vaccine expected to arrive here by the end of this month.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed this in his address to the nation on Monday (Dec 14), saying: “I am very happy to tell you that after studying the scientific evidence and clinical trial data, the Health Sciences Authority has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for pandemic use.”

This makes Singapore one of the first countries to obtain this vaccine, he added.

Mr Lee said other vaccines are expected to arrive in Singapore in the coming months.

“If all goes according to plan, we will have enough vaccines for everyone in Singapore by the third quarter of 2021,” he said.

Britain was the first country to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec 2, with the United States following suit on Dec 11.

The approvals come after US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech released in November the final results from the late-stage trial of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The findings showed that their vaccine was 95 per cent effective at preventing a person from getting infected with the coronavirus.

The Straits Times had earlier reported that American biotechnology company Moderna, which is developing another Covid-19 vaccine that is a front runner, is also seeking HSA approval to roll out its vaccines here. HSA said it has started evaluating the available data.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines leverage a new technology called messenger RNA.

Traditional vaccines, such as inactivated virus vaccines and live attenuated vaccines, work by injecting whole but inactive viruses into patients to stimulate an immune reaction. This is what is done for polio (inactivated polio vaccine) and chickenpox (a live, but weakened, virus vaccine).

But RNA vaccines involve injecting snippets of the viral genetic code so a patient’s body mounts a protective response without being actually exposed to the whole virus.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the first RNA vaccine on the market.

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Japan to sell ‘smart city’ services to SE Asian cities (nationthailand.com)

Japan to sell ‘smart city’ services to SE Asian cities

Dec 15. 2020

By The Japan News/ANN

The government has decided to market Japan’s comprehensive technologies and services for “smart cities,” a next-generation city model that optimizes the use of cutting-edge telecommunications, to Southeast Asian countries.

By the end of this year, the government will conduct an aptitude survey on what kind of services will be needed for the endeavor in 26 cities in 10 countries that the government regards as the most important markets. It will use the survey results to encourage domestic companies in various industry sectors to venture into the market. Related expenses will be included in the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2020.

In the smart city model, basic infrastructure, such as homes, companies and cars, and social infrastructure, including electricity, gas and public transport and schools, are interconnected and provide data. By collecting and analyzing this data on consumption and flows of people, smart cities can realize better services and achieve greater energy efficiency.

In Southeast Asian countries, populations tend to cluster in and around big cities. Therefore, the government concluded that the use of information technology could be useful as measures for solving traffic jams, environmental issues and other problems.

The government also has an incentive to compete with China’s government-monitored smart city scheme by promoting the protection of personal information.

The government expects a wide range of items will be exported under the project. They include public transport systems using signal controls, measures against cyber attacks, security measures via surveillance cameras, cashless payments and smart grids — next-generation power grids that efficiently manage and supply power.

By the end of the year, the government will ask Ho Chi Min City, Phnom Penh and some other cities to propose what kind of systems they need to solve problems in their urban policies. Based on the proposals, the government will work with each city and together write up a basic plan for urban development.

In 2019, the government set up a public and private council to market services related to smart cities overseas, together with about 270 companies and organizations, including Hitachi, Ltd. and MUFG Bank, Ltd.

Based on the master plan, the government is considering looking for companies that can provide necessary services through the council and implementing demonstrations of the services and provide training and technical support in the Southeast Asian countries.

Smart city projects in Japan include Woven City, which Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to start building in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, in February 2021.

Toward the realization of smart cities, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry started in fiscal 2019 supporting 43 projects, such as the operation of self-driving buses near Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The day when smart cities will be in practical use is coming close.