From December 8 to 12, 2010, the Enlarged Meeting of the Council for CAE & CAS Senior Members Society was held in Xiamen. The meeting was presided over by Shi Changxu, Chairman of the Society, and Jin Guopan, Vice-Chairman of the Society. The meeting was attended by a total of 12 senior members of either CAE or CAS, together with invited scholars coming from Beijing Normal University. The meeting discussed the CAE scientific moral construction related documents, also the educational projects consulting research framework set up by the CAE & CAS Senior Members Society. Senior CAE or CAS Members also had a discussion meeting with representatives from certain enterprises.

In order to strengthen the scientific moral construction, the Chinese Academy of Engineering has been revising corresponding documents. To go along with the current work in this area, the meeting held discussion sections on the following documents, which are “Functions and Working Mechanism of CAE Scientific Ethics Committee”, “Scientific Ethical Codes of Conducts for CAE Members”, “Some Self-regulating Codes on Scientific Ethics of CAE Members”, as well as “CAE Provisions on Handling Complaints Concerning Scientific Ethical Issues of CAE Members”.

It was agreed in the meeting that the scientific ethical construction of CAE is a long-term commitment, which requires timely amendments to the original rules and regulations to go along with the times based always on the real situation. The revision work is also necessary for the strengthening of system construction of CAE. To establish and improve relevant rules and regulations may well serve the functions of enhancing Members’ self-regulation awareness effectively, giving full play to the title of “Academician” in inspiring and honoring the scientific spirit in China, and making the CAE and CAS Members team play its modeling role in the science and technology community. Participating Senior Members exchanged their views on the scope of scientific ethical codes of conducts, description on personnel training, the “double employment” and “multiple employment” issues, as well as norms of conduct in new Member election process. In addition, they made proposals as to strengthening communication with organizations academicians work with while handling complaints.

The meeting also held that CAE should strengthen its ties with CAS and carry out discussion and coordination earnestly concerning certain issues in order that the scientific ethical codes will exert extensive impact in the science and technology community. It was believed that CAE and CAS should formulate the same guiding principles which should be conformed to by both Academies regarding commonly relevant issues. The meeting also proposed that the revision to certain CAE and CAS Members’ scientific ethical issue related documents should be distributed to all Members in order to solicit opinions and hopefully reach consensus on major articles among academicians.

As to the educational consulting projects, participating academicians also held a discussion section regarding the research framework after listening to presentations given by experts from Beijing Normal University. They maintain that the educational system in China is facing challenges and difficulties at two levels. One lies in the state policy support as well as its improvement, which includes the creation of the needed social environment to cultivate personnel with innovative abilities, the reform on evaluation system, the transformation of personnel system, the promotion of running schools independently, as well as the implementation of elimination system.

The other difficulty refers to problems that education departments should address, such as good teaching materials, diversified school systems, promotion of the heuristic education approach, fostering innovative mode of thinking, strengthening moral quality cultivation, enhancing teaching staff training and building, reforming the testing system, etc. Attendees of the meeting agreed that we should further sort out various problems, focusing on some key aspects of the problems and following “The Education Guideline Outline” closely while bearing in mind the toughest parts to implement in it.

During the meeting, Senior Members also went to visit several privately-owned enterprises and discussed with the entrepreneurs as well as technical personnel regarding problems emerging along with the development of the businesses. Since the specialized areas of certain academicians are quite close to the research & development as well as production of certain enterprises, thus entrepreneurs expressed their hope to get academicians’ technical guidance. In reply, participating CAE or CAS Members also extended their hope to help those enterprises as much as they could.

Academicians also paid their visit to the Quanzhou Fujian-Taiwan Bonding Museum. This museum is a national theme museum that aims to reflect the historical relations between the mainland of China (Fujian) and Taiwan, the Treasure Island. It also fully demonstrates the humanistic spirit as well as regional characteristic across the Taiwan Strait. The museum illustrates in a scientific and vivid manner that Taiwan has always been a part of China, thus residents in the mainland of China and Taiwan are all members of a big family by using an abundance of artifacts, literature and photographs for exhibition, through means of providing proof and making contrasts and comparisons, in terms of the bonding between Fujian and Taiwan in aspects like geography, business, law and culture and so on. Academicians all thought quite highly of the Fujian-Taiwan Bonding Museum from the designing concept to the displaying layout of exhibits, claiming that they were greatly impressed by the museum. (By Lu Ying and Sheng Haitao, January 2011; translated by Liu Chang)