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China China Association of Science and Technology
At the lower end of the administrative hierarchy, communication
and cooperation were intended to be promoted by professional
organizations, whose membership cut across administrative
boundaries. The primary organization was the China Association of
Science and Technology, a nongovernment mass organization. Because
it was funded by the government and, like all organizations in
China, directed by party cadres, its autonomy had strict limits.
The China Association of Science and Technology was an umbrella
organization: as of 1986 it comprised 139 national scientific
societies organized by discipline and 1.9 million individual
members. It succeeded earlier scientific associations that had been
founded in 1910-20. The China Association of Science and Technology
served three major purposes. First, like professional associations
in most countries, it brought individual scientists and
administrators together with their professional peers from other
work units at conferences, lectures, and joint projects, and it
promoted communication across administrative boundaries. Second,
the China Association of Science and Technology had a major role in
the popularization of science and dissemination of scientific
knowledge to the general public. This latter function was
accomplished through the publication of popular-science journals
and books aimed at an audience with a high-school education and
through lecture series, refresher training for technicians and
engineers, and consultation for farmers and rural and small-scale
industries. Throughout the 1980s, the China Association of Science
and Technology and its constituent associations served increasingly
as consultants to government officials. Third, the China
Association of Science and Technology played a major role in
China's international scientific exchanges and hosted delegations
of foreign scientists, sponsored international scientific
conferences in China, participated in many joint research projects
with foreign associations and scientific bodies, and represented
China in many international science societies.
Data as of July 1987
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