The China Association for Science and Technology announced in Beijing Saturday the result of a public ballot to choose the "top 10 science and technology developments in China in 2002".
More than 133,000 people across China voted in the poll. The result is as follows:
Chinese scientists began unraveling the mystery of aging cells;
Computer expert Wang Xuan and solid state and semi-conductor physicist Huang Kun were awarded the top national prize for science and technology development by President Jiang Zemin;
The "Shenzhou III" spaceship was successfully launched and returned to earth;
China developed the first cancer detection biochip;
Chinese scientists built the world's first continental drill for scientific purposes in super high-pressure metamorphic rock;
China discovered its first world-class gas field, with reserves of 600 billion cubic meters;
China's first direct and alternating current integration system debuted;
China solved the technical problem of building a tunnel through frozen earth in the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway;
China introduced its law on disseminating science and technology knowledge;
With "Dragon I", China saw the introduction of its own CPU chip.
(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2003)