Editorials

Nurturing talent

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-27 07:49

It would be unimaginable for a country to find its way to the scientific frontier without innovative scientists.

It goes without saying that China's talented scientists and professionals play a significant role in the long-term economic development and social progress of the nation.

The national conference on talent, which concluded May 26, speaks volumes about the government's focus on this topic.

It would be unimaginable for a country to find its way to the scientific frontier without innovative scientists. And, neither would it be possible for a nation to sustain development without talented professionals playing their assigned roles.

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Among other things, whether a nation devises an optimized mechanism to cultivate talent on its own and attract talented people for its cause will determine its overall capability for sustainable development. This explains why the central government has drafted guidelines for the mid- and long-term development of education and has launched various programs to attract talented scientists and experts from abroad.

Institutions of higher learning in the country have yet to catch up with their advanced counterparts in developed countries, not just in the quality of academic personnel but also in the way these institutions are managed.

There is insufficient reward now for young people to pursue knowledge whole-heartedly and think innovatively.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, there is always talent or potential talent, but there are not enough people with sharp eyes to recognize such talent.

As long as policy makers take the right steps, and implement them scrupulously, China will have abundant talent to speed its economic development and social progress.

(China Daily 05/27/2010 page8)